Elementary School, My Dear Titans
by Ace.04
Summary: AU Meet the Titans as they attend elementary school. High school fics are so over done, aren't they? Inspired by Rabula Tasa's idea. Pairings ? Eh, they're still young... Read and Review! NO LONGER ON HAITUS!
1. Day Before, Morning Of

Hello everyone! This is my second fic, so hopefully I've gotten better! I know I said I'd do one story at a time, but this idea just seemed so fun! I'd like to specially thank Rabula Tasa for the title and idea of this story, so ch-ch-check him out too! I'll finish Raven's Ace later...

As for pairings, I think innocent crushes are as bad as it'll get. So there WILL be pairings, just nothing extreme. You'll see some familiar faces here and there, and if you don't know who they are supposed to be, just ask me.

I have little brothers who were just in the 4th and 5th grade, so most of this stuff is coming out from first hand knowledge. If later on in the story, the kids seem cruel, THEY ARE. I also remember my fourth grade year well, it was my favorite year of elementary school.

If anyone has any ideas for this fic, feel free to let me know. I might have thought of it too, so you'll probably see it sometime later on in the story. Well, have fun, read it, review it!

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, or any of their real names for that matter.**

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**The first** day of fourth grade called for special preparation. Gar Logan set out a pair of jean shorts and a purple and green shirt on his bed. The pattern on the shirt was deemed "cool" by the nine year-old; a fact that compensated for its odd colors. His new pair of shoes that his mother bought him the day before sat untouched in its box underneath his bed. He didn't dare take them out before tomorrow.

Gar eagerly unzipped his backpack and peered inside for the third time that night. The three pencil spots in the front pocket were occupied by two wooden pencils and a black retractable pen. Gar took out the pen and clicked it a few times before replacing it. He smiled and opened the larger pocket of his bag. Taking out several folders and a pencil box, he emptied the bag. He stared at all of his fresh school supplies for a few seconds, and sighed happily. Just then, a knock came from his door.

"Garfield," said his mother disappointedly. "It's almost your bedtime and you still haven't packed up your school supplies!" She walked over and picked up his folders and stacked them on top of his bed.

"Aww Mom!" whined Gar. "I've _been_ ready. I was just checking on all of my stuff. You know, for tomorrow and all!" He rushed over to the bed and rearranged the folders that his mother apparently messed up.

"I'm coming back to tuck you in," said his mother, walking out of the door. "You'd better be ready when I get back." She shut the door behind her.

"Tuck me in?" thought Gar out loud as he gathered his supplies. "I'm in the fourth grade already! Sheesh!"

Gar quickly put away his folders and pencil box, making sure they were in the correct order and squarely aligned. He put the clothes neatly on a chair. He zipped up the bag and walked out of his room to brush his teeth and comb his hair. Neither took very long, and nearly seconds later he was in bed with the light off and the door cracked open, waiting for his mom to tuck him in.

The door opened wider and in stepped Gar's father. Gar sat up.

"Hey Dad," Gar said. "I thought Mom was going to come in." His father walked over to the bed.

"She can come in if you'd like," replied the man to his son. "I just wanted to see my _only_ son before his big day… but I guess he'd rather see his _mother_ instead." He trailed off sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, Dad," replied Gar, hardly amused. He crossed his arms. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Son."

"I think I'm a little too old to be getting tucked in."

"Oh," said his father in reply. "You don't like it anymore?"

"I just think I'm too old. I can get into bed fine myself you know, I'm not five…" Gar uncrossed his arms and used them to support his weight while sitting up.

"Well," replied the boy's father. "You are growing up. I guess we'll leave you be from now on." He kissed his son's forehead before heading out.

Gar wiped his head furiously.

"Gee thanks," he said sarcastically. His father just smiled and closed the door.

Gar laid back down and pulled the covers over his chest. He lay there for a while with his eyes open, just thinking about the day to come. About the new school year. About his friends that he'd hope to be in his class again. After finishing thinking about tomorrow, he lay there still, unable to fall asleep. He looked at the clock. 10 pm. He'd lay there for a good forty-five minutes and wasn't tired at all.

The anxious boy got up out of bed and looked at all of his supplies once more, but in the dark. This only made him more excited. He finally stood his backpack on its wheels, leaned it against the wall, and jumped back into bed. He changed positions a few times, but soon fell asleep before even feeling tired.

**He awoke** eight hours later. There was no alarm being set off, and his parents didn't wake him. School didn't start for another two hours, but Gar got up anyways. He just didn't feel tired anymore. The previous night, he woke up twice, struggling to fall asleep each time.

He jumped out of bed and looked at his clothes that he picked out from the night before. The shoes underneath his bed were still in their box, and his took them out for the first time since the car ride home from the shoe store. He thought for a moment, and then put them back into the box.

He opened his door slowly and poked his head outside. From the hallway, he could see the pale sunlight coming through the kitchen windows of his one-story house. His naked feet chilled as he stepped onto the hallway tile and made his way to the kitchen. The coffee pot was already on and the aroma filled his nostrils. He glanced around. No parents.

Gar opened the pantry doors out of habit and looked around. Nothing looked good. He opened the fridge to the same problem. He sighed and walked back to his room. He never had this much time in the morning before. He considered turning on the TV, but subconsciously knew he'd never get off the couch if he did.

"Wow," he said to himself, thinking about his wise decision. "I'm pretty smart!" His parent's bedroom door opened and Gar ducked behind the couch out of habit.

"What am I doing?" he thought to himself, smiling slightly, memories about pranks played filling his brain. The couch was his most famous hiding spot, and always brought back memories. His parent's bedroom door closed and Gar got up.

"Okay," he said to himself. "Gotta get ready. What time is it now?" He glanced at the clock on the microwave. 6:13 am. He sighed in relief; he had only wasted about fifteen minutes. He ran back to his room, overly excited again, and made his bed. He put his backpack and clothes on top and looked at it smiling.

"Hmm," he thought. "I can probably change and wash up in about twenty minutes, giving me plenty of time afterwards. What to do, what to do…" He paced about his room. He finally decided to take a shower, "Just for the heck of it", he thought.

After washing himself with soap, using his special "kid's hair" shampoo, and playing with all of the shaving cream his father didn't use, Gar stepped out of the shower and looked into the mirror at his blonde hair, slightly tanned skin, and green eyes. He smiled and showed his crooked teeth. He wiggled a loose tooth with his tongue and was satisfied.

Gar's mother walked out of her room as he exited the bathroom.

"Gar," she said, looking at his wet hair and the towel wrapped around his body. "Why did you take a shower?" He looked up at her and smiled.

"I dunno." With that, he walked into his room and shut the door.

Hastily drying his hair with the towel, putting on his shorts and shirt, and taking out his brand new shoes, Gar finished getting ready. He combed his hair forward and put gel in it, giving his look the finishing touch. Gar then put his new shoes on, tied his laces, rolled his backpack out of his room, and turned off the light. He took one last look at his room before shutting the door.

Gar rolled his backpack across the tile into the kitchen and sat at the table, his backpack right by his side. He glanced at the time before his mother walked up to him with a plate of toast and butter. The time was 7:00 am exactly. He had a while before he started his walk to school.

"I know how much you don't like eggs or bacon, so I just went with your favorite: toast," said his mother with a slight smile.

"Mom," said Gar, spreading butter on his toast. "My favorite is pancakes, remember? If you don't wanna make it for me on my FIRST DAY OF FOURTH GRADE… that's okay, I don't mind." His mother raised an eyebrow before catching on to his sarcasm. He grinned, hardly believing she still didn't get it.

"Well, thanks for the slices of bread, Mom," said Gar after he noticed the time had passed so quickly."

"Garfield…" warned his mother.

"But… I gotta get going!" He cut her off and smiled again, rolling his backpack to the front door. "Bye!"

"Have a good day at school!" She called after him, but he had already closed the door. She smiled and cleared away his plate. She caught a glance at the microwave clock and stopped what she was doing. It was only 7:20. "What is that boy going to do so early before school?"

"Hey Victor!" called Gar to his best friend who was walking a few yards in front. Victor lived across the street from Gar, and was also year older. "What's up? Excited for school or what?"

"Yo, Gar!" greeted Victor. "Heck yeah I'm excited! Check it out!" Victor pointed to his cap on his head. A white shield was on it.

"No way dude!" said Gar as they continued walking. "You're in safety patrol? That's so cool!" His rolling backpack stumbled over a rock, but he simply kicked it upright and kept walking.

"Yeah," said Victor proudly. "That's why I'm going to school so early. Why are _you_?"

"I just felt like it," replied Gar.

"Haha! You are so weird!" The two friends continued to converse until they reached their school campus. Victor waved goodbye to Gar and the blonde boy ran up the cement walkway and looked for his name on the white sheets of paper posted on the wall.

There was no rush or mob like there had been last year, when Gar arrived to the first day of third grade only five minutes before class started. After finally pushing his way to the front, he saw that he was placed in a G.A.T.E. class: a whole new level for him. He met new friends with a "higher" intellect, and even passed all of his subjects. His parents were so proud.

He found his name on the list of Mr. Mod.

"Great…" he muttered. "The dude from The United Britains or something…" He slapped his forehead.

He took another look at the list. He saw many names he recognized: K. Anders, D. Grayson, R. Roth, and of course his own, G. Logan. They weren't necessarily his friends, but at least he knew them. He smiled, knowing that he wouldn't be a complete stranger like the year before.

Gar heard the whistle of the safety patrollers and saw people coming. He was no longer the only kid at school. He grinned, and ran to the line on the playground marked with Mr. Mod's room number. It felt good to be first in line.

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Hope you all liked the first chapter! review please, the next chap will be up really soon! 

There will be more details on the characters and settings later on, so don't ask about it, but thanks for reading!

If you have any questions about anything, just let me know!


	2. ello gov'nuh!

wow! im so glad i got that many reviews in such a short amount of time! thanks alot, here's the next chap, hope u like it!

don't own the titans**  
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**The kids **filed into the small bungalow labeled "Room 56". Mr. Mod had led the kids from the chalked line on the blacktop to this particular room while explaining a few things that they would need to know for their first few minutes of the fourth grade. 

"Alright now, you sprogs," he began as he marched with a cane, leading the kids in a single-file line past several other bungalow classrooms. Some children weren't listening, and others were too scared not to. Being a fourth grader seemed scary to some, so paying attention was crucial. Gar Logan thought fourth grade would be scary as well; however, he was too absorbed in a conversation to notice the teacher talking. He didn't catch the rest of the brief lecture.

"Dudes!" he exclaimed to a few boys that he walked behind. They turned their heads every now and then to let him know they were listening. "Isn't his accent funny? What's a 'sprog' anyways? And why does he use a cane? He doesn't even have any grey hairs yet! How old _is_ this dude?" The kids laughed and Gar beamed.

"You there!" said Mr. Mod to Gar. The teacher stopped walking and the line fell silent as they stopped as well. Gar gulped.

"Me?" he peeped innocently. Mr. Mod walked over and towered above the small boy.

"Are you going to be one of those little trouble making kids that I'll have to worry about?" asked Mr. Mod. Gar would have cried right there, embarrassed that he was getting yelled at during the first five minutes of school, but his teacher's accent was somehow calming.

"Sorry…" he said sheepishly and hung his head.

"Right then, don't let it happen again, you hear?" Gar nodded his head. Mr. Mod went back to his post at the front of the line. Some girls at the front of the line giggled. Gar blushed furiously.

The class reached the classroom and waited on the ramp that lead up to their room.

"Alright, my duckies!" said Mr. Mod. "Room fifty-six. You lot need to remember that, don't get lost you hear?" Several kids nodded. Others, including Gar, made remarks including:

"Lost? We're nine!" or "How hard is it to remember fifty-six?"

"Right then," said Mr. Mod again, ignoring the comments. "Your desks have a nametag on them. You'll need to find your name. That there will be your seats for the first few weeks." He opened the blue painted door and stood by it as the kids scrambled through the portal and looked for their desks.

"Walk! No runnin' you hear!" shouted Mr. Mod as the kids shoved their way past him. Gar's rolling backpack ran over the poor teacher's toes as he tried to squeeze through the door. The child laughed all the way until he found his seat.

Gar found his desk in the middle of the fourth row. The desks were lined in four rows, with three desks in each row. There were two seats to a desk, making room for at the most, twenty-four students. Gar was seat three out of six. To his right, a black-haired Caucasian boy had made his way over. Gar peeked at the nametag.

"Hi Jason, I'm Gar!" he said happily. "Like your seat?" Jason looked at the blonde boy and smiled.

"Duh!" replied Jason. "I'm in the back row! Plenty of ways to mess with people from back here." Gar grinned wide at that last comment.

"Whoa! I thought that too! Mr. Mod won't know what hit him!" They high-fived and turned their attention to the room.

There were a lot of mirrors around the room. A flag from Great Britain was in one corner posted up on a corkboard and a United States flag hung proudly on a stand in another. There were a few posters about reading, a lot of posters about history, and one poster with the class schedule on it. A few whiteboards were on the wall, but other than that, read and white paper covered the bare walls. An overhead projector sat in a corner, looking very out of date.

"Whoa," said Gar out loud. "This classroom is so… British!"

"Haha!" laughed Jason. "I thought so too." Mr. Mod grabbed the children's attention by ringing a small bell that resembled a maid's calling call. Gar giggled but looked forward anyways.

"Alright you lot, I'm going to call out the attendance by your seating chart, so just say "present" if you're not missin'," he announced. "We start from the back. Here we go…"

"Great," said Gar to himself. Mr. Mod began.

"Adam A." A scrawny black-haired kid raised his hand.

"Fine then, you can raise your hand if you want. No need to say anything," grumbled the teacher. He continued:

"Martin H." A big kid with long brown hair raised his hand.

Gar gulped. "Sitting next to this guy probably won't be fun…" he thought.

"Good. Next up, Garfield L." Gar slapped his forehead. The class laughed hysterically. Girls giggled and the boys slammed their hands on their desks in amusement.

"What kind of name is that?"

"Isn't Garfield an orange cat?"

"Can we call him Garffey instead?"

Mr. Mod put a stop to their laughter with his bell. "Settle down you sprogs. No need to get all worked up." Gar put his head on his desk.

"I knew this would happen again," he said. Jason heard and frowned.

"Mr. Mod!" said Jason. "Can we just call Garfield "Gar" from now on?" Gar looked up and smiled at his new friend. Mr. Mod waved his hand.

"Yeah, sure. Why not." He then proceeded to name off the others, including "Jason T.", Gar's new partner in crime. Gar didn't pay much attention to the other names. He tried getting the redness out of his cheeks, but stopped whenever he heard a familiar name.

"Raven R." called Mr. Mod. A pale, timid looking girl with short black hair raised her hand.

"Kathryn M." She sat next to Raven. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl wore a pink dress that Raven seemed to dislike very much.

"Heh heh," said Jason chuckling. "Gar, check out that girl Kat. She wore a dress to school!" Gar laughed.

"Hah!" replied Gar, still laughing. "Raven doesn't seem to like it either!" Jason looked underneath the desks and saw that Kat's fluffy dress rubbed up against Raven's legs. Raven constantly pushed the ruffles out of the way, but they always managed to fluff back into her space. Gar looked too, and both boys laughed again. They recognized another name a few moments later.

"Kory A." A red haired girl raised her hand. She had golden tanned skin but without any freckles. Jason stared at her. Gar laughed when he saw his friend gawking at his old classmate.

"Dick G." The black haired child sitting next to Kory sunk underneath his desk. The entire class erupted in laughter. The boys howled and screamed, while the girls giggled uncontrollably.

"Dick?!?"

"Who would name their kid Dick?"

"My mom won't let me say that word!"

Gar felt extremely bad for his former classmate, and tried helping.

"Mr. Mod!" he yelled, having to reach the teacher's ears over the class's laughter. "Does Dick have a nickname we could use instead?" Jason smiled, recognizing the kind act. One kid spoke up, but his identity was unknown.

"Yeah! How about WIENER!"

The class laughed again. Gar slapped his forehead again, sorry he said anything. Mr. Mod shook his bell furiously and the class calmed down. The boys wiped fake tears from their eyes and the girls looked at Dick, still smiling.

"Alright now, you lot have been misbehavin', and you'd better knock it off!" yelled Mr. Mod, trying to fix his scarf and red hair. He wiped off his blue, square glasses and put them back onto his nose.

"Now, Dick," he began, glaring at the class not to laugh. "Do you have a nickname?"

"Well," began the small boy who nearly cried. "Richard is another name for Dick. You guys can call me that if you want. M-my other friends call me Rich, f-for short."

"Rich?" said a girl. "Does that mean you have tons of money?"

"Well, uh, not exactly," he replied. Mr. Mod cut in.

"Fine, fine," he said. "Who's next…" Rich kept his head on the desk as his teacher called out the rest of the students. It didn't take very long; Rich sat in the front row.

"Right then, class," said Mr. Mod, closing the blue attendance folder. "Whoever here is new to West Jump Elementary, raise your hand." A blonde haired, blue-eyed girl raised her skinny arm.

"Alright then," noted Mr. Mod. "If you have any inquiries about our campus, just let me know." She nodded her head.

After the morning announcements, the principle stopped by the classroom to welcome the fourth graders back. His Vice Principal walked in as well.

"Oh, heh," said Mr. Mod. "Hello, Gov'nuh…" He wiped his brow and took off his scarf. The principal ignored him and spoke.

"Hello, students," greeted Mr. Wilson. "Welcome back." Some kids waved, and others said "Hi". Dick looked up from his desk and shuddered. Mr. Wilson was menacing, at the least. The principal continued his speech.

"As you can see, we have a new Vice Principal," he said, pointing to the grey-haired woman behind him. Her hair was wrapped in a tight bun. "You may call her 'Headmistress'. She will be doing a lot of interacting with you children, so I expect you all to behave." Some kids nodded. "Now, if there are any new students, and you are having any trouble at all, feel free to stop by my office. I insist." The skinny blonde girl looked at him.

"Okay, Mr. Mod," said Mr. Wilson, walking out the door. The Headmistress followed. "Take it from here." He shut the door after his VP.

"Whew," sighed Mr. Mod. "That man gives me the willies!" Some kids laughed. He continued:

"Now, here is the daily schedule," he said, pointing to a chart. "First we take attendance… well, we've already done that today… and then we have spelling and writing for about and hour or so, and then… let's see… we'll do a bit of math here and there. Ah! About fifteen minutes before you lot go out and scurry about on the playground, we'll have Tea." Gar giggled a little.

"Tea?" asked Kory. "Will you be brewing it here in class?" The teacher chuckled.

"I'll have my own tea," he said. "And if any of you lot want to bring your own fish and chips or crackers of some sort, you may." Gar and Jason slapped another high-five.

"Yes!" said Jason. "We get a snack time!"

"Right, then," said Mr. Mod. "After Tea you all can go run about outside for… eh, recess. Then we come back in here and do some reading and maybe go over homework and what not." He led his finger down the chart as he read of the activities.

"And, er… then we'll do history until lunch, come back in here, and do some more history, and maybe some reading and all that. Then the bell will signal you all to go home and you'll do homework and such." He took a breath of air. "Questions?"

"Yeah, I have one," said Gar. "What about science and P.E.?"

"Ah," said Mr. Mod. "Thanks for the reminder, my duckie. School budgets call for some cuts, so you'll go to the science room after lunch, but only on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"What about P.E.?"

"Oh, eh… let me think. Ah! Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you lot will be shipped out to the playground about an hour before school ends, and you'll meet the P.E. teacher and do all that nonsense." Gar smiled.

"'kay," he said simply.

The rest of the morning went by slowly. Instead of sticking to the schedule and doing spelling and writing, Mr. Mod talked about Great Britain's history.

"Revolution!" he would say. "That's what those rebellious Americans said as they trampled all over the King himself! Those good-for-nothing Yanks…"

None of the kids minded. As long as they didn't have to do any real work for the time being, they were content. Mr. Mod didn't even notice the children talking. He would walk around the room, waving his hands, and stopping to fix his scarf every now and then. Gar and Jason chatted, Raven finally just decided to step on Kat's dress to keep it down as she read a book, and Kory and Rich were drawing. A bell rang suddenly.

"My," said Mr. Mod. "Time flies! Off you lot go now, off to recess!" The kids chatted loudly now, and they rushed out of the room and onto the blacktop. Mr. Mod slunk down into his chair.

"Rowdy lot, that they are…" he sighed.

**Gar and** Jason separated as they reached the blacktop. Jason ran over to kids from another class and started a game of four-square.

Gar wandered around. He had never been on this particular playground during recess before. It was restricted to fourth and fifth graders only. The first through third graders remained on the other blacktop. He walked around games of four-square, tetherball, and wall ball. He walked onto the grass field and saw Victor playing kickball.

"Hey Vic!" shouted Gar. "Can I join?" Victor grinned.

"Sure thing," he replied. "You can be on my team. Go play center field, we need someone out there." Gar grinned. He ran behind second base. A few minutes passed and Gar was bored without any action. His team's turn to go up came soon enough, and he scampered over to the backstop. He was sixth in line. Victor was up first.

"Alright, Vic Stone!" shouted the kid in front of Gar. "Knock them out!" Victor smiled and approached the plate. A black girl in Victor's class was pitching. Her hair was in two buns on her head, and she looked fiercely at Victor. He gulped.

"Well," he thought. "At least I ain't the only black kid out here any more…"

She pitched a fast one, and Victor hit it square on. It soared over the first baseman's head and into some thick grass. Victor sprinted around every base. He had kicked a home run. He took a breath after reaching home plate.

"Thanks Karen," he said to the pitcher. "Maybe next time you'll pitch something HARD to hit!" She frowned.

"You just wait Victor!" she called. "Next time, you are going down!" He pretended to ignore her.

"Hey, nice kick Vic!" called Gar. Victor grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.

"They don't call me Steel Toe Stone for nothing!" he replied.

The bell rang, and every kid on the blacktop and field froze. It was how the teachers clamed the kids down after recess, but it seldom helped. Gar struck a pose picking his nose, and a few kids laughed. The Headmistress walked out onto the field and blew a whistle. The kids everywhere unfroze and ran to the lines where their teacher would pick them up to take them to their classrooms. Gar spotted Kory on the way back.

"Hey Kory!" he said cheerfully. "How was your recess?"

"It was fun! I played four-square with Rich and some other boys," she replied.

"Heh, that's cool," he said as they got into their line, single file. "I hate having to freeze at the end of recess. It was almost my turn to kick!" Kory opened her mouth to respond but she was cut off.

"You're a liar," said Raven, standing behind Gar in line. "You probably love the freeze bell. Let me guess, you picked your nose when it rang, huh?" He blushed and frowned at the same time.

"No!" he protested, but Raven simply smirked. Kory giggled.

"I like your shirt though," added Raven. Gar smiled. Mr. Mod walked towards the line and waved his hand. It was time to go inside. Gar looked up and down the line.

"Hey," he said to the girls. "Have you seen Jason?" They shook their heads.

A black haired boy ran towards the line from the water fountains. He stopped in front of Gar.

"Hey Gar," said Jason. "I was just really thirsty. Don't tell Mr. Mod I wasn't here!"

"I doubt he noticed," said Raven flatly. They continued to walk.

"Haha," laughed Gar. "You're probably right, Raven. I think he brought a mirror with him!" Kory laughed. Jason saw this, and took a mental note of it.

"So," he thought. "You like funny guys, huh?" They reached the classroom, and went to their desks.

The rest of the day went by faster than the morning did. The history lesson wasn't as exciting as the first one, but they still didn't do much. Mr. Mod did, however, make them do a few review math problems. Martin wasn't much help in aiding Gar cheat. Jason was smart enough though, and didn't mind sharing.

Gar spent lunch wandering around, until the after-lunch recess, where he joined the resumed kickball game. Gar got out at first base, but managed to catch two pop-flies and redeem himself. In the end, Karen's team lost by two. Victor made sure to rub it in her face thoroughly before they got to their line.

After lunch, the student's of Mr. Mod's fourth grade class read for almost a half hour, until Mr. Mod signaled the kids to go to the science building. Raven walked with Kory, while Rich tolerated a conversation with Kat. He tried being as kind as possible until he finally said, "Uh, I'm gonna walk with Kory and Raven now," leaving her alone.

Gar and Jason walked together, revealing schemes about blowing things up and ripping apart frogs. To their dismay, Mr. Chang, the science director, simply went over safety rules. Gar and Jason nearly fell asleep through it, but the bell rang and they grabbed their bags and darted out the door.

Gar walked home, waving to Victor as he held up a stop sign to cars. He noticed that Raven walked home also, but she lived a few streets away. The skinny blonde girl that was new to his school rode past on her bike. Gar admired her speed, but before he knew it, he was home.

"Mom, I'm home!" he shouted as he burst through the front door.

Then he sat down on the couch in front of the TV for the next two hours.

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well, hope you liked it., the next chapter will surely have more action, or drama, or both! thanks so much for reading, enjoy! 

btw. in case you have not guessed it, im going with the theory of Jason Todd being Red X. so i hope you either caught that or dont hate me for it. im not saying i believe it, im just going with it. thanks again!

**review please!**


	3. Blade, Lazer, Blazer

SORRY for the hellish long update. i went away for a week and couldn't do anything but check my email... well here's a bit of fluff, hope you like it!!! and yes, garfield is an orange cat

**PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS**

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**Raven Roth** was in the P.E. session towards the end of the school day. Their instructor was currently making them touch their toes and make arm circles to warm up. It was the Friday of the first week of school, and Raven was not having much fun. Kory stood next to her as they warmed up on the hot blacktop.

"Oh Raven," she sighed happily. "Is this not fun?" Raven glared.

"No."

"Well, I believe it is!" said Kory, unaffected by Raven's mood. "I cannot wait until we begin the game!" Raven stopped her arm circles and stretched out her legs, as instructed.

"Speaking of the game," Raven said. "What _are_ we playing today?"

"Oh," replied Kory. "It is Rich's favorite game. I believe it is called 'dodge ball'." Raven's eyes went wide.

"Oh great," said Raven. The P.E. instructor waved his arm and the kids stopped their exercise.

"Okay class," said Mr. Brown. "Boys, gather here, to the right. Girls, come to the left."

"Oh no!" yelled Gar. "Are we playing boys against girls? This is gonna be so… GREAT!" An evil look spread across his face and he rubbed his hands together devilishly.

"No, we aren't, Gar," replied Mr. Brown. "I'm just going to give each person a number, and they'll go to their respective teams."

"Drat," said Gar, and snapped his fingers out of disappointment.

Mr. Brown began giving everyone numbers. It was either a one or a two, and he numbered off the students evenly.

"Alright," he said, after finishing giving the kids their numbers. "One's to the left, two's to the right. We're going to play a big game of dodge ball today." He pointed and the kids went to their sides.

"Okay," said Mr. Brown. "Here's how to play." He began pointing in different directions and explaining the game to both teams. Most of the boys already knew how to play: throw the ball as hard as you can and be the last man standing. When the rules were done being explained, both teams got onto their sides. Mr. Brown placed the six balls on the center line.

"Ready, set, GO!" he shouted, and then blew his whistle.

Immediately, every boy ran up to the front, yelling. Every girl scurried into the back screaming. Half of the boys on each team got out within the first ten seconds.

Gar and Jason were on a team, along with Martin and the skinny blonde girl in his class. Rich, Kory, Raven, and Kat were all on the other team, along with other boys and girls of course.

Martin took out several boys and girls on Rich's team with ease due to his massive size. However, he was an easy target, and got out just as fast.

Rich was very quick, and took out nearly as many kids as Martin. Unlike his large classmate, however, Rich didn't get out, and retreated to the back for a moment to catch his breath. Kory got tired of hanging out in the back and ran up to the front and threw a few balls that went her way.

On Gar's team, Gar and Jason worked magic as they got out many anonymous victims by blocking each other and pelting their attackers at the same time. Jason and Rich had a special rivalry, however. Both noticed the number of casualties each was causing, and both took note.

Soon, the numbers dwindled down. The skinny blonde girl got out without much fight, and quietly went to the sidelines and sat down. Kory got out as she threw a ball, and got smacked in the legs. Raven remained, however. She stood in the back corner and easily dodged anything that came her way. If a ball came to her slowly, she simply picked it up and gave it to Rich, who was thankful. Thus, Raven and Rich were the only ones left on Team One, and Gar and Jason remained on Team Two.

"C'mon Raven," teased Gar. "Come this way and maybe I'll go easy on you."

She simply ignored him. Gar tried other tactics. He rolled a ball right to her feet. She picked it up and threw it to Rich, who nearly got Jason out.

"Gar," called Jason. "Quit giving them all of our balls!" Some of the boys on the sideline snickered at this comment.

"Sorry!" he shouted back.

Rich and Jason each had one ball in their hands. They stared at each other intently.

"C'mon Rich," taunted Jason. "Give me your best shot."

"Don't think so," said Rich back. "Why don't you try one on me instead?"

"Hah," said Jason. "I think not. I guess we'll just see who cracks first."

"I guess so," replied Rich.

By now, the sideline filled with kids who got out was cheering and rooting for their teams. Kory especially screamed for Rich, but managed to say a few things to Raven to try and coax her out of her corner. No dice.

Out of the corner of her eye, Raven saw a ball come her way. She caught it as a reflex. Her side cheered.

"Okay, Raven," explained Mr. Brown. "Pick someone to bring back in." Raven looked at her sideline uninterested. Kory raised her hand frantically.

"Kory." The red haired girl squealed, and was back in the game.

"Gar!" shouted Jason. "Did you throw that sissy ball that even Raven could catch? Come ON!!!" Gar scratched his head, mouthing sorry. Jason couldn't see, for he and Rich were still locked in a stalemate battle to see who would throw first.

Gar paused and thought. Kory would be easy enough to get out, but he'd hate to waste a ball on her. Rich was being taken care of by Jason for the moment. Raven wasn't going anywhere, so he put her in the back of his mind. He gripped the ball in his tighter, and he and Jason ganged up on Rich.

"Oh great," thought Rich. His eyes darted around. There was a ball a few feet away, but he didn't dare move. He also noticed the ball next to Raven's feet, and the ball a few feet from Gar. Gar noticed Rich's eyes moving, and ran to fetch the ball behind him. Now Gar had two balls, Jason had one, and Rich had one.

Gar moved suddenly and Rich tensed up. Gar laughed at his bluff. Rich was furious.

"Kory," said Rich. "Can you get that ball over there?" She obeyed, and now had a ball in her hand. Gar made the first move.

He threw a ball right at Kory's shin and succeeded in getting her out. Both balls bounced back onto his side. At this, Jason threw his ball at Rich, who dodged it and hit Jason right in the thigh. Gar turned quickly and hit Rich in the chest as he recovered. Both teams cheered, but the clearly louder team was that of Gar's. He pumped his arms into the air and grinned.

Raven sighed. Now she HAD to do something.

"Alright, Raven," Gar said after grabbing both balls. "You can surrender if you want, or put up a fight and totally get killed. Your choice!" He grinned. She sighed again.

"Okay, I surrender," she said flatly. Rich stood up to object, and Mr. Brown blew his whistle before Gar's team could cheer.

"Raven, you have to play," he said. "Your P.E. grade will go down if you don't." She let out a long "Ugh!" and reluctantly picked up a ball. Her team cheered.

"Fine."

"Alright!" shouted Gar. "_Now_ we have a game!" He juggled his balls in his hands like a clown, and everyone laughed. He beamed.

Raven held the ball in both of her hands and waited for Gar's move. He moved soon after.

Gar threw the first ball straight up into the air. Raven stared at it as it slowly ascended and descended in the air. By then, Gar had launched the second ball straight at her. He released it too soon though, and the ball soared up and hit her right in the face. All the color drained from bother her face and Gar's as they realized what came next.

Both teams gasped as she hit the floor crying. Mr. Brown blew his whistle and rushed over to help her up. Gar stood there for a split second, and watched Kory and Rich run over to look. He snapped back into it as Jason slapped him on the back.

"Nice shot, Gar!" he said. "We won!" Gar didn't smile this time.

"Oh my gosh Jason! I think I really hurt her!" he shouted back as he ran over to the poor girl. He peered over Kory's head and saw that Raven was crying, and had a bloody nose.

Jason looked at Rich who scowled. "Better luck next time," he taunted.

"Where's Gar?" asked Mr. Brown sternly. Gar raised his hand sheepishly.

"Right here…" he said quietly.

"Here," said the teacher as he helped Raven to her feet. "Take her to the nurse's office. And don't forget to say sorry!" Gar put Raven's arm around his shoulder and began their walk to the nurse's office.

Raven refused to let Gar touch her, so he simply walked by her side as she sniffled and wiped her nose that was still bleeding. Her purple shirt had dark spots dotted all over the sleeves.

"Do you want a tissue?" asked Gar, as they rounded a corner and stepped inside the hallway. He pulled out some crumpled tissues and held them out. Raven didn't stop.

"No," she said simply. Gar frowned and shoved the tissues into his pocket. They finally reached the nurse's office and Raven's shirt was now thoroughly covered in spots of blood. Gar knocked on the door as Raven pinched her nose and tilted her head up toward the ceiling.

"Umm," mumbled Gar to the closed door. "Raven has a bloody nose. Can we come in, please?" The door opened shortly after and the nurse looked positively shocked.

"My poor girl!" cried Ms. Maye. "Come in here right now dearie, and tell me how this dreadful accident happened!" Ms. Maye ushered Raven inside.

"What about me?" asked Gar.

"You go back to class young man," replied the nurse. "Thank you for escorting Raven down here." Gar nodded slightly and turned around after mumbling a short "Bye." He looked up at the clock. It read 2:25. Only five more minutes before school let out. Gar ran to the playground to find that Mr. Brown, Jason, and the rest of his classmates were gone.

"Probably inside already," thought Gar out loud. He ran towards his classroom to see the kids filing inside the small bungalow. Jason spotted him.

"Hey Gar! Nice aim back there!" laughed Jason. Gar cracked a smile.

"Dude, thanks," he replied as they found their backpacks and began packing up. "But I totally hit her too hard. She got a bloody nose and she was crying the whole way over there."

"Over where?" asked Jason.

"The nurse's office," replied Gar. "Duh."

"Oh yeah," replied Jason, slightly embarrassed.

The bell rang and Jason and Gar made a mad dash for the door as always. But as always, being in the last row had its downfalls. There was a massive pile up at the door, and Gar tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the kids to file out.

"Hey Gar," said Jason, after they both managed to get through. "Want to go to the playground for a little bit and play on the jungle gym?" Gar was tempted to say yes, but felt another thing was more important.

"Aw, man," said Gar. "I want to, but I think I'll go check up on Raven. Sorry."

"Oh ho!" said Jason with an evil laugh. "YOU like RAVEN! Don't you, Gar…hah!" Jason rolled over on the ground laughing.

"What?" said Gar, shocked. "No I don't! Honest! I just wanna see if she's alright after I made her face a giant target!" Jason didn't stop.

"Whatever Gar," he said, finally getting up. Kory and Rich walked by them just then. Rich scowled and Kory waved. Jason seemed to forget about Gar. "Go check on your little girlfriend, and I'll play on the jungle gym with Kory." Gar didn't mind that Jason left, and watched as he rushed over to Kory. But as soon as he got to the red-headed girl, he froze up. Rich scoffed at this.

"Kory," said Jason. "Uh, do you wanna, uh, play on the jungle gym for a little bit? With me?" He kicked his feet in the ground nervously. Rich couldn't help but grin.

"Okay!" she replied, much to Rich's dismay. Jason tagged her, and ran away. It took a few moments to register in Kory's head, until she finally realized they were playing tag. Rich casually walked over to the slide and leaned against it.

"Tag?" he said to himself. "What a lame game!" But of course, Kory ran to him and tagged his arm, and now all three were playing the childish game. Gar laughed, but realized Raven was still waiting.

"Well," thought Gar. "Not _exactly_ waiting…"

And with that last thought he ran towards the main building, burst through the doors, ran down the hall, and luckily saw Raven just now heading out of the nurse's office with a pack of ice to her cheek. Her black hair was sticking to her face due to the moisture from the ice.

"Raven!" he called out. She looked back at him, but quickly turned around and kept walking. "Raven! Wait!" Gar sprinted and met up with her in a matter of seconds.

"What do you want?" she asked bitterly as he breathed heavily to catch his breath.

"Er, well," he began. "I wanted to see how your face was…I mean how you were doing…?" He paused at the end, unsure of the sentences that were coming out of his mouth.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," she replied sarcastically. They walked through another set of doors and made their way down the cement walkway. Kids all around them stared at Raven's puffy cheek and wet icepack. She put the ice pack down and wiped her glossy eyes.

"Oh, good," he said. "Hey, I didn't know that and icepack stops a bloody nose, I always thought… hey, are you crying?" He finally got a good look into her blue eyes after they passed the safety patrollers and were out of the crowds.

"What?" she replied, instantly putting her hand down. "Um, no. I think it's just the ice pack." Gar looked at her unsure. "And an icepack doesn't stop a bloody nose. That ball hit my cheek too, and now I can feel it bruising." Gar looked at her, genuinely sorry.

"Oh my gosh," he said. "I'm so sorry Raven." He reached up and took the icepack from her hand. Her cheek was slightly swollen and was clearly darkening against her pale skin.

"It's fine," she replied. She took back the icepack from his hand, and doing so, brushed it slightly. Her other cheek turned pink, and she turned away quickly. Gar also felt their hands touch, and tried not to blush.

The two kids walked down the street, turning at the right corners and looking both ways before crossing the street. They talked mildly about school, and Mr. Mod, always seeming to begin their sentences with "Um" or "So…" Gar could feel his hands sweat after a few conversations, but he didn't know why. Raven seemed to be afflicted the same way, because she constantly rubbed her palms together. She looked down every time he started a new sentence or topic, but always picked it up after a few moments in. Force of habit, she thought.

"Um, Gar?" asked Raven after they passed a few more streets. "I didn't know you lived over here." Gar looked up at a street name as they continued walking. He didn't recognize it at all. A grim look appeared on his face. Raven smiled at it.

"You have no idea where you are, do you?" she said with a smile.

"Heh," he replied, scratching his head. "No, not really."

"I'll tell you how to get back to the school, and you can retrace your steps," she said, and began pointing down the street, explaining. Gar didn't really pay attention.

_Geez _he thought. _Did I really hit her that hard? Her cheek is definitely turning purple. Er, actually, I think it's turning green. But both her cheeks are definitely pink. That's kinda weird. Well, maybe not that weird. She is a girl after all. All girls do is giggle and blush and… hmm, come to think of it, Raven doesn't really giggle. Or laugh. Or smile. Heh, well she smiled when I told her I was lost. Hey! That's not cool! Oh well. She's not that bad. I mean, she looks at the ground when I talk to her… well, only in the beginning. She seems pretty shy. I dunno about her. Hmm…actually, I think I like Raven. She's really nice. _Gar caught some spit in his throat after he thought that. _Did I just say I __**liked**__ her?? Not THAT way of course… right? Wow, maybe I should get going._ He snapped out of that last thought, a bit confused about what his next move was.

Raven looked like she was wrapping it up. Gar nodded his head and smiled, acting like he understood it all. He gulped, knowing he'd have to find his way back to the school by himself.

"Okay," said Raven. "I guess you could… go now. Don't forget that left at the light post down there." Gar nodded. This was it. She was shooing him away now. Gar felt like he messed things up with that stupid dodge ball to the face. But maybe, just maybe, she _didn't_ hate him. Maybe he had already made things up to her with his company. 'Exactly how many people get to walk home with the one and only Gar Logan?' he thought to himself. This seemed to push his doubts aside.

"Thanks, Raven," he said. "Um, but I was wondering if I could just walk you all the way home." His cheeks burned red. He could just tell. "Er, I mean, because we're already walking and all." He wanted to slap his forehead so hard.

"Oh," she said, looking at the ground. His heart sank when she replied. "Well, actually, this IS my house." Gar looked up at a very large, two story house. It had a beautiful white balcony and a brick walkway that wove around freshly cut grass. He then spun around quickly, and noticed that none of the other houses were that extravagant.

"Wow," he said. "Nice house."

"Thanks," she replied dully. "Well, thanks for walking me home."

"Heh," he said, beginning to scratch his head again. He quickly stopped. _Gotta stop doing that, _he told himself. "It was nothing. I mean, I was just really sorry hit your face, is all…"

"Oh," said Raven. Her face fell slightly.

"Er, I mean, I liked it though," said Gar, catching himself. "I mean, it was nice talking to you… ugh." He waved goodbye and clutched the straps of his bag and ran off toward the light post, remembering to make a left. Raven stood there, a blank look on her face, cheeks still pink.

"Wow," said Raven out loud, to herself. "No one ever walked me home before." She walked into the house, completely forgetting she had an ice pack in her hand. Her mind was obviously elsewhere. Water dripped a little on the white carpet, but none seemed to get on the marble tile in the kitchen. Her father was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. He looked up at her and gasped.

"Raven!" screamed Trigon. "What happened to you at school?" Raven was startled at this sudden out burst.

"N-nothing!" she stammered. She then realized the dripping icepack in her hand. "Oh! I played dodge ball today. That's all!"

"Who did this to you?" he demanded, getting up and taking the icepack from her hand. "I'm calling his parents right now! And I'll call that oaf of a gym teacher too!"

"It's okay, Father!" she said as he inspected the bruise. "It was an accident! He didn't mean it!"

"Who? Who didn't mean it?" his voice took a lighter tone as he asked. Raven could feel tears welling up, and she couldn't even tell why. Why had she grown so defensive of Gar all of a sudden? She looked up, trying to soak up the tears back into her eyes.

"It was Gar," she said quietly. "M-my _friend_ Garfield. It didn't hurt though, I swear." He eyed her sternly. Her mother walked through the door as Trigon interrogated her.

"Raven!" cried Arella. "What happened to you?" Raven opened her mouth, but Trigon spoke first.

"Just dodge ball," he said, winking at Raven. She hated it when her father overreacted, but her mother usually ended up distraught too. "It's okay though. The bruise will be gone with the weekend. Raven sighed in relief.

"Bruise?!?" cried Arella, gingerly touching her daughter's face. Raven rolled her eyes.

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Well, hope you liked it, the next chapter will be up really soon. and if you havent figured it out, martin is supposed to be mammoth. just to let you all know, haha well thanks so much for reading, i didn't have much time to proofread, so i hope it turned out well. thanks again!

**REVIEW**


	4. The Longest Friday EVER

Okay, everyone! sorry for the hella long wait. I've had so much school work it's not even funny! i have three ap classes and a weighted math class to boot. plus soccer practice and studying takes up the rest of my spare time, so hopefully i'll get a break. ah, if only my school was like West Jump Elementary... I hope you didn't forget what happened in the past chapters, but im so happy with their success! hope you like this one!

ALSO! if i switch from RICH to DICK at any point in the story, like in context, LET ME KNOW. reading stories with "dick" will confuse me. also, if i spell KORI instead of KORY let me know. THANKS

Read and review!**  
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**The weekend** was by far Rich's favorite part of his weekly routine. After school on Fridays, however, were the most rewarding experiences. A long week of school had just past, and it didn't help that it was the first week in September. This meant that only four days had past since school began. 

As soon as the bell rang on Friday, Rich grabbed Kory by the hand and darted out the door, dragging her along. After stumbling down the ramp, Rich wiped his brow and panted for air. They had been the first ones out the door that day.

"Um, Rich," asked Kory as the other students filed out of the door. "Why did we have to leave so quickly?" She and Rich walked along the blacktop and towards the main building.

"Because," he replied. "We're going to the student store today, and I don't wanna wait in a line. It's only open on Wednesdays and Fridays, so it could be packed." He started a light jog and Kory kept up with him. Other classes that got out could be seen running towards their parents or to the jungle gym. They made their way to the main building and Rich grabbed the door, swinging it wide open so that Kory could enter as well. They turned left around the first corner but stopped suddenly as Kory bumped into a boy standing right there.

"Oh!" she cried. "Sorry about that!" He looked at her, and then to Rich, and then back at her.

"It's okay," he replied plainly. Rich and Kory glanced at each other, each with one raised eyebrow. They shrugged it off and walked around the boy. In front of him stood a girl, and in front of her was another girl. A long line of students leaned up against the wall, kids everywhere holding their lunchboxes in their hands and their bags still on their backs.

"Um, Rich," began Kory. "Could this be the 'packed line' you were talking about?" He glanced at the long line that rounded a second corner and then back at her.

"I hope not!" he said. They caught up to the corner, turned it and saw the source of the line. A short boy standing on his books was trying desperately to get a sip of water, but only managed to soak his boosters. He didn't seem to realize this and some kids walking by chuckled. Kory frowned.

"Excuse me," she said to the boy. "But you are getting water on all of your books." He looked down in horror and realization and jumped off his books. He picked the three texts off of the ground and clutched them close to his chest, getting his shirt wet. He just started at Kory.

"Um," she said again. "You are getting your shirt wet." It clung to his chest, and by now the boy was angry.

"Just leave me alone!" he shouted. The boy ran off, and Kory was nearly in tears.

"Don't listen to him, Kory," reassured Rich. "You only tried to help." He rubbed her arm affectionately and they walked down the hallway together.

"Rich, where is the student store?" asked Kory innocently. "Or have we already passed it?"

He pointed down the hall to the very end, where a mob of kids was piled up at a door. A tall teacher's head could be seen from over the children's heads. It wasn't even a line gathered, just a blob of kids trying to buy something cool with the last of their weekly allowance.

"That's the student store," he said quietly, annoyed at the fact that they probably wasted time with the boy at the fountain. "Come on." He grabbed her arm and they darted towards the mob. He started to push his way through, but lost Kory's grip as some kid turned around sharply.

"Kory!" he shouted out.

"I'm fine!" she replied. "Just get what you want, I'll stay right here!"

"Okay!"

Rich pushed his way through. He got smacked in the face a few times by girls' hair as they turned, but had no room at all to wipe his face. He shoved a few kids to the floor, said sorry to some of them, and finally made it to the front. He slammed his hands on the table, a crumpled dollar left on its surface.

"Can I get ten Red Vines and two mechanical pencils?" he shoved the dollar across the table and the teacher behind the counter reluctantly gave the candy and supplies to him.

"Don't cut next time," said the teacher. She began taking money from the other students, and by that time Rich had already pushed his way out. He walked through the crowd slowly, but was knocked over by Martin.

"Move!" he shouted, and Rich fell to the ground. He clutched the candy in his hand still, but the pencils slid out across the floor.

"No!" he shouted out loud. He crawled across the floor in the direction of the pencils. He ended up out of the mob before he found the pencils and his face fell.

"Man!" he cried. "That was my last dollar too!" He spotted Kory casually leaning against the wall and ran over to her with the candy in his hands.

"I got us some Red Vines," said Rich, holding them out. They were surprisingly still clean, and Kory gladly took one. "I also bought us some pencils, but I lost them."

"Aww," she said with a frown on her face. "I _really_ wanted one though!" Rich put his head down, disappointed at himself.

"Yeah, me too…" he said sadly.

"Hmm," she began, a smile creeping up on her face. "I guess you could have one of mine then." He looked up and Kory held the two pencils Rich had bought. He grinned and took one. He handed her another Vine and together they walked towards the exit chewing on the candy. They walked out of the building and made their way back to the playground area. There they ran into Gar and Jason. Gar was just about to leave, and Jason had a grin on his face. Jason stared at Kory, but then ran towards her.

"Kory," said Jason. "Uh, do you wanna, uh, play on the jungle gym for a little bit? With me?" Rich grinned and waited for Kory to say no so they could meet up with her parents. Surprisingly, she said yes, and they began playing tag. Somehow, Rich got sucked into the game. Gar was long gone.

Rich realized that his rivalry with Jason was more than just athletic abilities. 'Jason definitely likes Kory,' thought Rich as he scrambled up the slide, just escaping Jason's tag. 'That's why he's trying so dang hard.'

"I'm gonna totally tag you Kory!" shouted Jason, and sprinted his hardest and tagged her on the arm. He then turned sharply, laughing and running away. Kory ran towards Rich now, as he was closest. He stayed at the top of the play-set, crouching behind the bared railings. Since he wasn't concealed very well, Kory giggled and he immediately knew his position was discovered.

"Crud!" he said quietly to himself. Even while playing tag Rich was as competitive as ever. He ran down the second level of the enormous jungle gym, ran across the bridge, and jumped the set of stairs, putting a great distance between them.

"Sheesh, Rich," said Jason to himself. "It's just tag." Just then Jason heard a beeping sound. Kory, who was near by, also heard it. She stopped running for a moment, and Rich noticed. It was Jason's phone.

"What happened?" asked Rich as he jogged over. Jason answered the ring.

"Hello?" he said, into it. Some muffled noises could be heard by Kory and Rich, who glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah, mmhm, okay, okay. Yeah, yes, YES, OKAY!" He slammed the phone shut after answering apparent questions. He shoved the phone into his pocket and picked up his backpack.

"What's going on Jason?" asked Kory innocently. He pulled the straps on his backpack.

"I gotta go," he replied. "Bye Kory! Later Rich." He waved and smiled at Kory and ran off.

"Where do you think he had to go off to so quickly Rich?" asked Kory as they both walked to their bags.

"It was probably his mom," laughed Rich. Kory giggled.

They put on their backpacks and walked to the water fountains. After a long drink, they headed out the gates. It had been half an hour since the bell rang, so the only people left on campus were teachers. They passed Mr. Mod and Mr. Wilson talking with each other, and made sure not to make eye contact. They made it through the final set of gates and crossed the street. Safety Patrol had already left, being so late after school, and Kory and Rich waited a while for the cars to pass. When it was safe, Kory grabbed Rich's hand and proceeded.

"What are you doing?" he said, utterly shocked. Not that he didn't mind though.

"We have to hold hands crossing the street. There is no one else here to protect us!" she replied. Rich silently smiled, but said:

"Er, well I think we're old enough to cross the street, you know, _without_ holding hands." Kory blushed, and let go of his hand. Luckily, they were already across the street so it somehow eased the tension. Kory's mother was waiting in the car impatiently.

"Where on earth have you two been?" asked Lu. "It's been over fifteen minutes since I got here!"

"Apologies Mother," said Kory with her head low. She opened the car door and scooted to the far seat. Rich climbed in the seat next to her and shut the door. "We went to the student store and there was a long line." She felt a little guilty for not telling the whole truth.

"Hi Mrs. Anders," mumbled Rich, disappointed in himself that he didn't rush Kory or at least knock Jason out so they could leave. Boy, would he have liked to do that.

"Hello Dick," she said, pulling out of her parking spot. The entire rest of the car ride home was silent aside from the soft music coming from Lu's radio. She pulled into Rich's driveway and he hopped out.

"Thank you," he said politely, stepping out. He held the door open for a moment. "Bye Kory, see you later!" He shut the door and walked up the driveway to a number pad, relatively unseen from most angles. He punched in several numbers, and the garage door opened. He waved to the two Anders ladies, and stepped inside.

There were two full sets of weights, a bench-pressing station, and a balance beam. The garage was beautifully colored red and white, and there was red and white tarp all over the walls. He stepped inside the door leading to the house, waved again, and closed the garage.

**Victor Stone **had just about enough of his fifth-grade teacher. Not only did she have the thickest French accent he had ever heard, she was downright scary. Her lectures were boring to say the least, and pretty much nobody in his class could understand what she was saying anyways.

He stifled a yawn, terrified at what his consequences could be. It was only the first week of school and already he longed for a day off. Thankfully, it was Friday, and Victor went over his weekend plans in his head as Madame Rouge droned on about an English lesson. Karen Beecher, sitting right next to him, thought this was ironic.

"Man, Vic," she said quietly. "How can this lady be tryin' to teach us English when she doesn't even speak it herself?" He grinned, and put his head lower so the teacher wouldn't see.

"Dude, Karen," he began, when Madame Rouge turned to face the whiteboard. "I am so ready for this weekend, you don't even know it! Hey, how'd you think you did on that math test she threw at us yesterday?"

"I don't even know!" she said excitedly, but still keeping her voice down. "I mean, it's only the first week of school! Did you know that one problem with the four and then a line thing, and then an eight? And then we're supposed to find out what that is equivalent to? What the heck does equivalent mean anyways?!"

"I dunno," he said, and looked up at the clock. "But, I do know that we've only got ten more seconds of school!" Karen's face brightened immediately and she anxiously looked up at the clock. Her face of excitement turned to a frown as she realized what time it was.

"Boy, you need to learn how to tell time," she said angrily. "It's only one-thirty you dummy!"

"What?" he said, a little louder than he would have liked. He covered his mouth with his hands, but luckily the teacher didn't notice.

"It's one-thirty."

He looked up at the clock again. "Oh man," he said, putting his head down, no longer caring if Madame Rouge saw him. "It _has_ to be Friday, because I _REALLY_ need that weekend!"

Luckily for Victor, the next hour went by quickly. He and Karen played hangman and tic-tac-toe on their notepapers. The bell rang soon enough and Madame Rouge excused them.

"Goodbye my pupils," she said. "I 'vill see you all on Monday." Victor and Karen made a mad dash for the door. They both squeezed out at the same time and walked relatively fast towards the gate. They then waved good bye to each other as Victor went straight and Karen hung a right, getting into her mom's van.

"I am so watching TV when I get home!" he said to himself, and sprinted down the street.

"Karen's cool though," he thought. "She's really, really good at sports, and she's pretty funny too. Heh, when's the last time I said THAT about a girl!"

In record time, Victor made it home and took a brass key out of his pocket. He shoved it through the key hole and turned it. Bursting through the threshold, he jumped onto the couch, landing on his stomach, and turn on the TV.

**Gar was** having a bit of trouble finding his way home after the light post. He tried to remember which street was which, and in what possible direction the school might be in, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Man," he said out loud, noticing that no one was around to hear him. "Raven's house is so huge! I mean, the other houses on her block are like, dumps compared to hers! Well, my house is too I guess." He watched a few kids his age run down the street, still wearing their backpacks. He ran towards them, and looked up the street they came from. Sadly, he didn't see the school. He decided to walk up the street anyways though.

He continued his conversation in his head.

_Man, I can't believe I actually thought that I liked Raven. That is way too weird. I've known her since, like… last year! She never even said anything to me back then. I wonder why. I mean, she hangs with flippin' Kory Anders, the nicest chick in school! I guess she is really nice to walk home with. But LIKE her?! Wow, the more I think about it, the more I seem to like this idea. _

Not too far away, Gar saw some more kids running, and he chased after them. Looking up their street, he saw the school and silently cheered. He looked up at the street sign, recognized it, and ran all the way home.

"Yep," thought Gar. "I like her."

Little did he know, Victor, Jason, and Rich were thinking the exact same thing.

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Okay, i hope this was worth the wait, im sure it wasn't but the next chapter will be gooo-oo-ood! i'm going to try and update every weekend, and i might get lucky and update every day that isn't a monday or a wednesday. [soccer practice but dont count on that haha. 

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! THANKS, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

and if anyone doesn't know who all certain characters are supposed to be, let me know. anyone with a name or just specific details will come in soon, so either ask or be patient! thanks again!

incase u didn't know, i meant for kory's mom to call rich "dick" k?


	5. Weekend Daydreams

Okay everyone, thanks for sticking with me. I am SO sorry it took so long. I've had so much HW, but hey, it paid off! i have a 4.1 GPA! let's dive back into the story. this chap is much more...beefy (in the words of my math teacher)... than the last one.**  
**here you go! please read and **REVIEW!  
**

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**Oddly** enough, Saturday was the only day of the week that Garfield chose to wake up early. His seven favorite TV shows began at exactly 7:00 am every Saturday morning on channel 5. He always set his alarm for 6:58 am, waking up right before his first show started. This morning was an exception. 

The previous night, Gar stayed up past eleven, something his parents were not aware of. His addiction to the Mega Monkeys 5 video game had gotten the best of him, and he refused to put down the controller until he defeated the boss that Victor could not. Finally, Gar beat the menace, saved the file onto the memory card, and turned off the game.

Sadly, all of the kitchen and living room lights had been turned off, as they usually were at night, and Gar stumbled around in the dark until he reached his room. He kicked off his slippers and climbed into bed. His mind wandered for a while and he couldn't fall asleep.

"Man," he thought to himself. "We need some night lights or something in the hall. I couldn't see a thing!" He turned over in bed and his mind wandered even further. He thought about her.

All Garfield could do while he tried to sleep was replay that afternoon. He recalled smacking Raven's face with the dodge ball, and imagined what it would have been like if he didn't. He thought that maybe Jason would have ended up hitting her instead.

Gar would have then run at blazing speeds toward her, hurling the ball at Rich as he ran across the line, getting him out and winning the game. But Gar wouldn't even take notice of the victory. He would fall to his knees looking at her, glare at Jason, and then lift her head gently and brush her hair out of her pale face. Then the teacher would push him aside and he'd get up right in Jason's face.

"What was that for?!" he would demand. "What were you thinking hitting a girl like that?" And Jason would have no choice but to fall to the ground.

Raven would have seen this out of the corner of her eye and smiled before catching Gar's eye, and his own smile, making her blush. He would then help her to the nurse's office (without her swatting him away like she actually did) and he would wipe off her tears and wait outside the nurse's office like an expecting father outside the delivering room. She would come out with a few cuts and an ice-pack. He would run and get her backpack for her and carry it all the way home.

And on the walk home he would charm her with wit and humor, helping her cross the streets, waving to cars like he commanded the roads. And she would shyly grab his hand and he would smile, and they'd walk hand and hand to her house. He would slide her bag down his arm and help her put it over her own shoulders. And he'd give her a small kiss on the cheek and grin, and walk away, not looking back.

And he wouldn't get lost on the way home.

Gar imagined her running inside with a smile on her face, kissing her father hello, and running up the stairs to her bedroom, which he imagined had a window view of the street. And she would watch him walk down her street coolly, and before he turned the corner and was out of view, he would look towards her house and then go on.

By this time Gar had gotten quite sleepy, but was enjoying his fantasy so much that he longed to stay awake. He kicked off some blankets to stay cold enough not to dose, but he did anyways. The last thought on his mind before snoozing was, "Man, I watch too much TV…"

Saturday morning rolled around, and so did Saturday mid-morning. It was almost Saturday afternoon when Gar's mother gently opened the door.

"Garfield, you're still sleeping?" she said, opening up his windows. The sun hit his closed eyelids and he squinted and turned over. "You're father and I woke up later than usual this morning because we didn't hear the TV blaring with cartoons, which means your pancakes are still hot." Gar shot open his eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Mom!" he shouted, kicking off the covers he'd pulled up during the night. "I forgot to set my alarm!" He fell out of bed and brushed the comic books off of his desk, uncovering his clock. His face fell.

10:28 am.

Every single one of his seven favorite shows had passed. The last one was just finishing up and he didn't bother to rush to the TV and spoil the ending. He slumped back into bed. His mother had already left.

Gar didn't move for another ten minutes. This had been the only Saturday in many months that he had missed his cartoon shows, and that was because he and his parents vacationed in Africa where they didn't have that channel. Other than that, he remained faithful.

Slowly he got up, put on a new pair of jeans and a clean shirt, and slipped on some socks. His mother put a few pancakes on his plate along with a bowl of syrup, just like he liked it. He put a few pancakes back, leaving him with one, and ate half of it. It might as well have been lunch at this time, and he cleared his plate.

He walked to the bathroom, washed his face, and put some get in his hair. He combed it forward, in the duck-butt fashion as he always did, and left his mess on the counter. He walked down the hall back to his room, and tried closing the blinds. He wasn't used to seeing the sun this soon after he woke up.

"Darn thing!" he said grouchily to himself, struggling with the strings. The phone rang, and he heard his mother pick it up. "Why… won't… you…close?!" Gar finally gave up, his window half covered with the blinds, and his mother walked in with the phone.

"Garfield," she said, handing it to him. For a split second, he thought Raven might be calling. How did she get his number? What did she say to his mom? He though she might have seen Rich or something yesterday, and that maybe he would have given her the number.

"Who is it?" he whispered. She shrugged. He cleared his voice, and his mother fixed the blinds.

"Hello?" he said, as gruffly as he could.

"Yo Gar!" said Victor over the phone. Gar let out all the air he had puffed into his chest.

"Hey Victor," he said. His mom left.

"Hey, did you finish off Count Kuzzar in MM5 last night?" he asked.

"Um, nope," Gar lied, his mind now focused on the game. "Dude, it took forever and I didn't even get him!!"

"Really?" asked Victor. "I'll bet I would have gotten it eventually…"

"Yeah right!" cut off Gar, and they both laughed.

"Hey, did you watch the new episode this morning? I missed it because I had a football game," explained Victor. "Come on, tell me how they kicked their butts! I want to hear the play by play!"

Gar's face fell. "Dude, I overslept. I freaking missed it." Victor was surprised that he missed it, but even more surprised that Gar used the word "freaking". He only said that when he was disappointed.

"Aww, sorry dude," consoled his friend. "Hey, can I come over? We'll finish off MM5, yeah?"

"Yeah!" said Gar. "Okay, see you soon!" Victor and Gar hung up the phone at the same time. Gar ran out his room with the video game and memory card in hand but stopped when he saw his mom and dad watching a movie.

"Mom, can Victor come over to play games?" he asked. His dad looked at him.

"Son," he began. Gar rolled his eyes. "You play too many video games. Why don't you and Vic go play outside for once?" Gar let out a long, loud, sigh. His parents didn't mind it. The doorbell rang.

"Okay then," said Gar, and he ran to greet Victor.

"Sup," said Victor, grabbing at the door handle. Gar unlocked it and Victor walked in.

"Dude, my parents said we have to go outside. I'll go put away the game and I'll be right back," replied Gar. He dashed across the tile, threw the game on his bed, and went back to his best friend. Victor had already made it to the garage and was kicking around a soccer ball.

"So do you wanna go to the park or something?" he asked. Gar motioned for him to pass. Victor did.

"Uh, sure," replied Gar. He miss-kicked the ball and it bounced down the street. "I'll go tell my parents."

Gar shouted to his mom where he was going and she shouted back approval. Gar nodded to Victor and pushed the garage door button. They jumped over the laser sensor and chased after the ball down the street.

"You know Marie," asked Gar's father. "Gar spends too much time with this TV."

She laughed. "You're right Mark," she replied. "Why don't you sign him up for baseball?"

**They reached** the park only five minutes after leaving Gar's house. Both boys lived only a block away from the neighborhood recreation center, and they went there frequently. On the walk over, they talked about Mega Monkeys 5, but Gar secretly fantasized what it would be like if he saw Raven there.

He imagined her sitting on a bench alone, reading a book. He would kick the ball over to her, and she'd kick it back…

"Gar, man, are you even listening to me?" demanded Victor, who noticed his friend was obviously preoccupied. Gar was disappointed he didn't get to finish his daydream.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"We're here, dude."

They were there. They immediately went over to their favorite tree and put the ball down. No one would take it; it was just something that never happened. Gar and Victor went to the jungle gym and swung around while talking.

"Hey Gar," said Victor, noticing his friend's distant mind. "What's up with you today? You're acting all weird." Gar glanced at Victor as he lifted himself onto a bar. Victor remained leaning against the bars closer to the ground.

"Dude, you're gonna laugh if I told you," replied Gar.

"Try me."

"Well…" trailed off Gar. "Okay. What do you think of Raven? She's nice, right?" Victor grinned.

"No way dude," he began. Gar sighed. "You like RAVEN?!" Victor laughed until he was satisfied and Gar could speak again.

"Whatever dude!" said Gar, his esteem lowering with each chuckle. "I mean, I was just wondering. I walked her home yesterday, that's all. Because I totally smacked her face with the dodge ball and I felt bad, that's all." Victor clearly didn't believe him.

"Hey, I was just teasing dude," he said, still smiling. "I mean, if you like her that's cool. She's pretty cool I guess. Kinda creepy, but still cool."

"Really?" asked Gar, hopeful again.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Hey, who do YOU like?" Gar said, grinning. Victor turned his face away. "Haha, you HAVE to tell me!"

"I don't like anyone," Victor said shortly. He swung himself on top of the bar as Gar got off of his. Gar was now leaning against the pole and Victor sat on it.

"You liar."

"Man, I'm tellin' ya," replied Victor. "I'll bet you a hundred-million dollars."

"You liar," Gar said again, his confidence rising. "Dude, how 'bout this. If I beat you in soccer, one-on-one, then you have to tell me who you like. Fair?" Victor grinned.

"Okay, you're on!" Victor said. Gar grinned.

"I knew it! You DO like someone!" Gar laughed. Victor chased Gar to the tree and kicked him hard. Gar rolled over and Victor took the ball. Gar reluctantly got up and followed.

The boys set up their shoes as goal posts and Victor put the ball in the center.

"Alright, man," Victor said. "I'll start off with the ball." Gar nodded.

"Fine by me," he said. "First one to ten wins." Victor nodded.

"Ready," said Gar.

"Get set," said Victor.

"Hey guys!" Rich said, running towards them. Gar stumbled forward before catching himself from not actually going.

"Sup Rich," he said.

"Playing soccer, eh?" said Rich, kicking up the ball on his feet and juggling it.

"Yeah," said Victor. "You want in?" Rich grinned.

"Yeah," he replied. Gar cut in.

"Um, HELLO!" he shouted. "Uneven teams, much!" Victor thought for a minute.

"You two versus me," he said shortly. Rich laughed a little.

"How about YOU two versus ME," Rich suggested. Gar crossed his arms.

"I'll go find someone…" he said, knowing Rich and Victor would soon start fighting.

Gar scanned the park. He saw a bunch of girls who looked about six around a puddle of water. A group of teenage boys were off in the far corner of the park huddled together closely. A Chinese woman was doing exercises on a bench. Gar was about to give up until he saw Jason walking towards him, waving.

"Guys, check it out," said Gar to Victor and Rich. "Got someone." He pointed to Jason who was jogging towards them. Rich slapped his forehead.

"Hey guys," said Jason. "Playing soccer?"

"Yeah," said Victor. "You wanna play on Gar's team?" Jason grinned.

"Alright!" he said. "What are we playing to?"

"Ten," said Rich.

"Yeah," agreed Gar. "And the losers have to say who they like!" Victor nearly punched his best friend.

"Hah!" said Jason. "I'm totally in!" Rich's expression of disgust turned to an evil grin.

"Okay, let's go, me and Vic against you and Jason," he stated to Gar who nodded in reply.

"Let's go!"

The game lasted longer than expected. Victor and Rich were extremely skilled in dribbling, but Gar and Jason had mastered passing. After nearly twenty minutes of hard playing, Jason received a phone call and dismissed himself. Rich was reluctant to let him off the hook that easy. Jason gave in and whispered who he liked into Gar's ear.

"Don't tell anyone, but I like…Kory," he whispered. Gar wasn't surprised, but respected his friend's wishes and didn't tell.

Rich had to leave too, and ended up whispering the name of his crush into Victor's ear.

"Okay, don't laugh, but I like… Kory," he said. Victor wasn't surprised either. He let Rich go, but snickered to himself at his new knowledge.

Victor and Gar picked up their shoes and slipped them on. The original plan was for the two to continue playing and the winner would get to know who both losing boys had crushes on.

"Dude," said Gar. "I don't wanna play anymore."

"Me either," said Victor. "You think your mom and dad are off the TV?"

"Yeah!" said Gar. They picked up the ball and walked home.

Mark and Marie were off the TV and were working in the garden together out back. Gar and Victor popped in their game and were battling until that same hard boss came across their path.

"Okay Vic," said Gar. "Tell me who you like when I beat this guy before you do, okay?" Victor laughed.

"How about," he began back at Gar. "You get me some of those chips when I beat him." Gar shook on it. He picked up the controller and killed Count Kuzzar in one try.

"Wow!" he said, forcing back a smile. "That was… hard!" Victor couldn't believe his eyes.

"What?!"

"Hah!" shouted Gar victoriously. "Tell me. NOW!" Victor closed his eyes.

"Fine. Karen."

Gar laughed. "You mean the pitcher during our kickball games?"

"Yep," said Victor confidently.

"Hmm, okay," he said, still grinning.

Victor scowled.

**The weekend** wasn't over yet though. On Sunday morning, Gar and his parents went to church, along with Victor's. Traditionally, they went out to breakfast afterwards at the local diner.

As respectful as he tried to be, Gar could not help but yawn. He usually stood up and prayed when told to and helped his parents put some dollars in the collections basket, but other than that, he sat there kicking at the pew foot stools. He looked around the church and saw someone he didn't notice before sitting at the very end of the pew a few rows over.

The skinny blonde girl in his class.

He looked at her constantly, and averted his gaze when he thought she was looking at him. But she didn't. She was deeply involved in her prayers, and read the bible along with the pastor. Gar couldn't help but be mesmerized.

She suddenly got up and walked out the door to the hallways. Gar saw her long white gown that he didn't fully notice while she sat. After she didn't come back within a few minutes, Gar excused himself ("bathroom") and headed in her direction. He walked down a few halls and walked back. He was about to open the door when he heard footsteps.

There she was, holding a white candle. A few boys walked behind her holding other things Gar couldn't seem to recognize. She glanced at him and his face turned a light shade of pink. She looked down shortly after and reached out to open the door. He grabbed it before she did and held it open. She smiled in thanks and turned pink herself. They walked through and Gar followed their line. Gar's parents saw and thought for a second he was supposed to be there. He ducked out and rejoined his parents.

He watched her, and silently wished that he was dressed in a white robe standing next to her. He imagined himself in line behind her, making her laugh. He wondered what her smile would look like if he was the one making her laugh. She seemed so serious.

After he watched her drink the blood and eat the body of Christ, a lot of the people began to spread out and leave as mass was over.

"Hey Vic!" said Gar, getting his friend's attention outside. "What's her name?" He pointed to the girl he'd been watching.

"Who?" replied Victor, clearly not seeing the girl. Gar pointed again after some people cleared out.

"Her. Right there. She's in my class. I think she's new," he said. "Do you know her name?"

"Oh," said Victor. "That _cute_ girl?" He wiggled his eyebrow.

"Har-har Victor," said Gar, not amused but not disagreeing. "Yes, HER."

"Kidding, dude," he replied. "It's Terra."

Gar smiled.

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There you go! hope you liked it!!!! please **REVIEW**. 

any questions? ask me! any suggestions? TELL ME! you know what i love now? brace-face fics. they're chalked FULL of high school drama it's GREAT! and it doesn't have to be AU bc they're already IN high school! sadly, there are only like 30 stories that haven't been updated in 3 years, so if you know anyone who writes Brace-Face, tell them to update!


	6. Bicycles

**HELLO EVERYONE! I'm very, very, VERY sorry that I haven't updated in the longest time. I'm so lazy! I've still been reading all of my favorite works, so it's not like I've been gone. So here's the next chapter! Read, review, and enjoy!**

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**For the next** several days, Gar no longer spent his time alone thinking about Raven. He thought about Terra. Ever since that day in church, he watched her. In class, Gar longed to sit next to her, to talk to her, and most of all, to make her laugh. When he wasn't cracking jokes with Jason or meeting up with Rich and Victor to play at recess, he secretly plotted his first move.

Raven, on the other hand, had not stopped thinking of Gar since he walked her home that first Friday of the school year. By now her black eye was gone, and she wondered if fate would ever bring them together again. He hadn't even talked to her since that day. He seemed to be preoccupied.

The bell rang, signaling recess.

"Alright you lot," said Mr. Mod, "Get out of here now, go on! When you come back be ready to learn!" The class groaned. They exited the room single file as instructed, but they were in no particular order.

Now was her chance. Gar was coming from his seat to the line, and Raven slowed her walk so they'd be next to each other. He looked up for a second and picked up the pace a little, making her heart flutter. She could feel a smile coming but didn't show it.

"Hey," he said, reaching his place in the line.

"H-" began Raven, but she was cut off.

"Hey Gar!" said Terra delightedly. Terra cut Gar, but he didn't mind. Raven turned to the front and her cheeks turned bright pink. She could hear their conversation but she didn't say a word.

"So," he began, feeling a little nervous. "Uh… what's up?" She smiled, but was still trying to get over her shyness.

"Uh… nothing I guess," she replied. The kids had walked out of the door and were now proceeding down the ramp. "You?"

"The sky!" he said.

"What?"

"Oh, wait," he said, catching himself. "Never mind, that only works sometimes." They laughed. As soon as Raven left the ramp she ran to catch up to Kory. Gar and Terra, however, had hit it off.

They walked around all recess, talking about nothing in particular. Gar cracked a few jokes, causing Terra to laugh hysterically. Gar beamed.

"You're hilarious!" she laughed. He grinned.

"Thank you, thank you," he bowed. "I have a great audience." He winked at her the best he could and she smiled again.

The bell rang. Gar and Terra froze, Gar standing on one leg, and Terra laughing again. They were "unfrozen" and casually made their way to their line. They talked the whole way to Mr. Mod's room, and even after they were in the classroom, Gar asked to switch seats with a boy named Chris so he could sit next to her, claiming he couldn't see well enough.

Raven watched, jealous and sad that Gar didn't seem to like her anymore. She watched them as if they had been doing this for days, when in reality, it was only today.

After a boring lecture on history (oddly enough, American history), lunch (which Gar spent introducing Terra to Victor, Rich, Kory and Raven), and Science Class, the day was over. Terra walked out the door with Gar right by her side, and together they went to the bike rack where Terra had chained up her blue ride.

"I've seen you ride your bike home before," he said as she entered the code. She stopped quickly.

"You know where I live?" she asked suddenly.

"Er…no," he replied, taken aback. "But you ride really fast, down the main street I go down."

"Oh," she said, relieved. "Thanks." She laughed it off.

He walked with her across campus, down the hill in the back, and across the main crosswalk. She mounted her bike.

"Bye Gar!" she said. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Wait! Terra," he said, "Can I umm, walk you home?" She stopped.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said, "I, uh, well, you're just fun to talk to, is all…"

"Well, I guess so," she said, smiling. He put his hand out. She looked at it queerly.

"What?" he said, "I'll walk your bike so you don't have to."

"Okay," she said, and handed it over.

They walked down the main street making the same idle conversation they had made all day.

"Wow," began Terra. "I've never been walked home before. It sure is nice."

"Really, I've never walked a girl home before!" He said absentmindedly. Had Raven heard that, her heart would have been flattened.

"Cool," she said, and smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "So how far DO you live?"

"Well," she began, clearly not wanting to discuss it. "You go down this street till it hits the dead end, then you go left for a bit, then turn right and you're there." Gar did some calculations in his head.

"Oh," he said, still scratching his dome. "I've never been past that dead end. My parents say the canyon past the fence has dangerous animals in it."

"Really?" said Terra. "I've been down into that canyon a few times. I can cut through it to get to my house, but it's hard getting my bike over the fence so I just take the road."

"Hey look, there's my house!" He pointed down his street to a one-story house with an American flag hanging off the side. Gar had forgotten that he was carrying her bike and stumbled a bit.

"Here," said Terra, grabbing the bike. "I still have a while to go, and your house is right there." Gar looked down.

"Oh, okay," he said sadly. "I'll just see you tomorrow then." He put on a smile for her.

"Thanks for walking me home, Gar."

"You're welcome," he replied. "Anytime." He turned down his street waving at her. She waited until he was out of sight before mounting her bike and riding off, smiling the whole way home, stomach still of butterflies.

Gar closed the door to his house and took off his shoes. The cold tile felt good against his sweaty feet and he ran and slid across the hall. Throwing his backpack onto the bed, Gar prepared to do his homework. He planned on finishing early today so he'd have time after to do some… exploring. He pulled out a folder and started his math.

"Okay, let's see," he thought. "One fourth plus two thirds." He calculated the fraction and continued, finishing in no time.

"What's next… ugh," he groaned. "History…" Gar ran down the hall to the living room table to fetch his history book. After scanning the section, Gar hastily answered the section questions and shoved his paper into the bag.

"Yes!" he said. "Reading, then I'm done!" He sat on his bed, skimming the chapter of his favorite free-choice book, Shiloh. He sat for twenty minutes reading until his mother came in.

"Garfield?" she asked. He looked up. "Are you… doing your homework?"

"Yeah," he said, turning back to his book.

"Oh," she said, still a bit surprised. "Well, I've got some good news, Gar."

"Yeah?" he asked, still reading.

"Your father signed you up for baseball." He closed the book.

"Done!"

"Gar, did you hear me?"

"What, Mom?"

"I said your father signed you up for baseball!" His mouth gaped open.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Why?"

"Gar, you spend too much time on video games and watching TV," she replied. "You need sometime more… constructive to do."

"Aww," he whined. "When do I have to start?"

"Tomorrow."

"What?!" he exclaimed again. "But I don't even have a bat!"

"Which is why I'm glad you're done with your work so early," she said. "We're going to the store today to get your cleats and glove."

"No!" he whined again. His plans seemed ruined. "How long will it take?"

"I don't know Gar, and hour or so…" He ran to his window and looked outside. It looked bright out still. He checked the clock, just in case. It was only 3:15.

"Wow," he thought. "I did my homework super fast today!"

"Okay Mom," he said. "Let's go now." He darted out of his room, slipped on his shoes, and grabbed the car keys. He opened the passenger door and threw the keys on the drivers seat, buckled up, and honked the horn.

"Sheesh!" said his mother. "And I thought he didn't want to play baseball!"

When they got to the sporting goods store, Gar looked up at the large sign saying baseball and followed the arrow to the right corner. The wooden bats, blue helmets, and the many, many baseballs fascinated him. He picked one up.

"Mom, hurry, over here!" he shouted. He put the ball in a glove that seemed to fit his right hand well. He went over to the bats and picked out a wooden one the he could swing easily.

"Okay, I'm coming," said his mom, lazily walking towards him. "Let's pick you out a…"

"Nope, already got it!" he said, thrusting the equipment at her.

"Gar, stop it," she said sternly. "You've been here for three minutes and you don't know anything about baseball, so calm down!" A sales associate walked by.

"Excuse me, can you help us here? It's his first year…" Gar rolled his eyes. This was going to take longer than he thought.

After twenty more minutes, Gar was excited they were finally leaving. The sales man helped pick out a glove for Gar's LEFT hand, a bat that was standard for his age group, and a sturdy pair of cleats. His mom also bought several balls. In no time they were home.

"Thanks Mom…" he said as they got out of the car. He brought the equipment into the garage and checked the time. Almost four.

"Mom, I'm gonna go play with Victor now!" He said, not waiting for a response. He grabbed his bike and helmet and flew down the street.

"Okay honey," she replied, but he had been long gone.

Gar went out to the main road, turned right and rode his bike for a little bit. He hit the dead end.

"Gee," he said. "This fence used to be a LOT bigger than I can remember." It was only a gate, locked up but still closed. Two poles crossed through the middle, creating enough of a barrier so cars wouldn't go through. There was no chain link fence on it. Gar looked around for a place to hide his bike. The bushes would suit.

He pushed his bike into some thick plants and climbed over the gate, using the poles as support. He landed easily in the dirt.

"Okay," he said out loud to himself. "So she has to turn left at the dead end, then turn right eventually. So I'll have to go… this way!" He pointed southeast and began his trek down the hill.

There were several boulders in the canyon and Gar amused himself by jumping over them. The sun was setting and it grew chilly. He rubbed his hands over his arms.

"Whew," he said. "Wish I brought a jacket…" Gar continued.

He climbed up a dirt hill and could see some lights just turning on. They looked like house lights.

"Yes," said Gar to himself. He looked backwards and gulped. "Hope I can remember how to get back… in the dark…" He ran full speed towards the lights and in only a minute or so he had reached a chain link fence. On the other side was the backyard of several houses. Gar looked at them with a raised eyebrow. He looked up and saw a sign that read, "Jump West Mobile Community."

"Terra can't live here…" he thought. A door opened and he ducked behind a bush. A skinny girl with blonde hair walked out and quickly walked back in. "That was Terra…"

Gar looked around, the sun setting still. Her house wasn't that bad looking, but some were. There were no tires on some of them, and they were held up by cinderblocks. Some had lawn furniture around their "property". He decided it was time to go.

"Bye Terra," he said softly. He ducked out from behind the bush and started going back.

By now Gar was running at a full sprint through the brush and over rocks, as it was dark. Any noises he made with his own feet were playing tricks on him, and he thought there were animals or zombies or an army chasing after him. He nearly fell as he reached the top of the hill, and he saw lights coming from the main road. He slid down the hill, feeling as fast as a cheetah as he jumped over branches and weeds, and finally reached the fence. He panted for a long time before climbing back over the pole. His bike had remained untouched, and as he imagined it was 8 o'clock, he rode home with such vigor that he rode straight into the garage and slid off his bike. He burst through the kitchen to see how much his parents had worried. His mother was cutting vegetables and his father hadn't come home yet. It was 5:53. Gar laughed at himself for a minute, and then remembered Terra. He went into his room for a while after that.

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**Thanks for reading! I promise the next chapter will be longer, review please!**


	7. Meeting and Making New Friends

**Hey folks! It's been over two years since I updated this story, and it's about time I got back into it! It's amazing how fast time flies, as I've graduated high school and am in my first year of college now! Hope you all like what I'm writing! Read and review please!**

**Here's a list of characters from the previous chapters, in case you were confused. Thanks again for stickin' with me :)**

Characters so far:

Gar (Garfield Logan)- Beast Boy

Mark and Marie Logan (parents)

Raven Roth- Raven (I prefer the name Raven over Rachel in the AU perspective)

Trigon and Arella Roth (parents)

Victor Stone- Cyborg

Rich Grayson- Robin

Kory Anders- Starfire

Lu and My Anders (mother and father respectively)

Karen Beecher- Bumble Bee

Jason Todd- Red X (going off of the theory that X is Robin II- aka Jason Todd)

Terra Markov- Terra (I know it's "Tara" in the comics, but I prefer "Terra")

Adam A.- Adonis

Martin H.- Mammoth

Kathryn (Kat) M. (Moth)- Kitten

Mr. Mod- Mad Mod

Mr. (Slade) Wilson- Slade

Vice Principal "Headmistress"- HIVE Headmistress

Mr. Chang- Dr. Chang

Madame Rouge- Madame Rouge

Ms. Mae- Mother Mae Eye

Mr. Brown (OC- just a teacher)

**Once again, review!**

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Over the next couple of days at school, Gar tried not to act different around Terra. Ever since he discovered what part of town she lived in, he had a hard time trying to make it seem like no big deal. She didn't even know that he knew. Every time he saw the skinny blonde, he wanted to rescue her, imagining how bad her life must be like living there. Even so, they still talked, ate lunch together, and hung out during recess. They were a good match. Kory and Rich seemed to take note of this.

"It seems that our friend Gar has become very close to Terra," said Kory before she took a bite of her apple. It was currently snack time in Mr. Mod's class, and although they sat next to each other during instruction, Rich and Kory still ate their snacks in the same seats. Rich especially enjoyed this, because there were no other seats for anyone (particularly Jason) to occupy next to them.

"You're right," replied Rich. "This is the third day in a row that he switched seats to eat his snack with her. I think he's got a crush." Rich took sip from his juice box.

Gar and Terra were at her desk. He scooted a chair over from another desk and they chatted mildly as they munched on their snacks. Terra was eating crackers from a zip-seal bag and Gar was eating some baby carrots.

"So," said Terra. "You're always telling me jokes. I think I've got a good one for ya." Gar grinned wide.

"Sure!" he said, eager to her a joke that his crush had prepared just for him.

"Okay," she began, picking up another chip. "Now, I thought of this during breakfast this morning, so don't be mean if it's not funny." She looked down at her desk and wondered if she should really tell the joke now.

"I would never be mean!" he said back. "Tell me your joke already!" He made sure to grab her bag of chips so she couldn't reach for another and avoid telling it. They brushed hands, and both smiled sheepishly.

"O-okay then," she said. "What is a rock's favorite cereal?" Gar thought a moment.

"Um, I dunno," he said finally. She smiled wide.

"Cocoa pebbles!" she said triumphantly. "I had some this morning and…" Gar's laughter cut her off.

"Dude!" he shouted, still laughing. The rest of the class looked at them to see what was so funny. Terra pulled his head down to keep him from alerting Mr. Mod. "Dude, that was hilarious!"

"Hah, you really think so?" she asked, smiling.

"Totally! And you came up with it on your own too," he replied. "That's way cool."

The bell dismissing them for recess rang, and Gar and Terra left their snacks on the table and ran out the door.

"Let's play wall ball today!" he shouted, racing the girl to the blacktop.

"You're on!" she shouted back. They grabbed a worn out volleyball from the ball basket and started a game of wall ball. Soon, a line began to form to play, and in it were Rich, Jason, Martin, and Kory. Gar and Terra got out one by one, and it was now Rich versus Jason.

"Uh oh," said Gar. "It is definitely going down now!"

"What's going down?" asked Terra.

"Rich versus Jason, duh!" he said back. "I'd step back if I were you… things might get ugly!" They both took a few steps back and watched Rich and Jason go at it. Kory cheered for them both, but in the end Jason won the match.

"No fair!" shouted Rich, grabbing the ball from his opponent's hands. "You cheated! I demand a rematch!" Jason grabbed the ball back.

"No way Rich!" he replied. "I won fair and square. Get in the back of the line if you want to play me again." Rich looked at his friends in line.

"C'mon guys, didn't you see him cheat?" he asked. His classmates in line just looked at each other.

"But Rich," said Kory. "Jason has won. You did not hit the ball in one bounce. I believe you are out."

"Hmph!" said Rich. "I'm leaving." Rich stormed off of the wall ball court and pushed through the crowd of kids playing four-square and fist-ball. Kory debated whether or not to follow him, but it was almost her turn to go in.

Rich ended up sitting on a step by the water fountains next to the bathrooms. He looked around at the kids at the play ground before getting up for a drink. When he turned to face the fountain, someone had cut in front of him.

"Hey!" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I was here first!" She took a long sip and looked at him.

"Oh," said Rich with a smile. "Hey Raven."

"Hi," she replied shortly, starting back down the steps. Rich saw she was leaving and took a quick drink before chasing after her.

"What are you up to this recess?" he asked as they crossed the blacktop.

"Nothing at all," she replied. She maneuvered around a few games of tetherball towards the grass fields.

"Oh, me too," he said, keeping up. They walked to the backstop where a kick ball game was going on between the fifth graders. Raven took a seat at the edge of the bench.

"Wow Raven," said Rich, surprised. "I didn't know you played kick ball!"

"I don't," she said, pulling out a book she'd been keeping in her sweater pocket. "This is the only place I can read without the teachers yelling at me to actually exercise." Rich peeked at what she was reading.

"Whoa," he said. "I've seen Starfire's sister Komi read that book. She's like, three years older than us!"

"Super," said Raven flatly, not looking up from her book. The kickball slammed against the fence, startling Rich. Raven didn't flinch.

"Yo!" yelled Victor to Rich. "You wanna play? We could use another man on our team." Rich jumped up, excited to participate in a game with the fifth graders.

After Rich caught all three outs in the inning, Vic let him kick first.

"Make way!" said Victor. "Let my man kick first!" He pushed Rich forward. Karen Beecher was pitching again.

"Alright little kid," said Karen. "I'm not gonna make this easy!" Rich smirked.

"Just try me, old lady!"

Karen pitched, making the ball skid so that it barely grazed the dirt. It bounced up over Rich's swinging foot. The entire outfield burst out laughing.

"Told ya!" shouted Karen. Rich was even more determined now.

"Aw man!" said Victor, grabbing the chain links in the backstop. "We put the worst kicker up first!" Raven peeked up from her book, watching Rich's next kick.

Karen pitched the same skid-ball, but this time, Rich was ready. He caught it at the right angle of the bounce, sending it flying due to forces of physics not known to the elementary schools yet. As the ball soared up, the bell rang, and Robin froze with a giant grin on his face. Karen's outfielder stopped dead in his tracks out of habit, and let the ball bounce right in front of him. After the whistle blew, Robin walked over to Raven who had already gotten up.

"Dude!" said Victor, slapping Rich on the back. "Nice kick! We coulda used it before the bell rang though." Rich laughed.

"Heh, maybe next time my timing won't be so off," he replied.

"Next time? How 'bout later today after lunch!" suggested Victor. Rich nodded and ran to catch up with Raven as they walked back to the line.

"Good kick Rich," said Raven.

"Oh, thanks! I didn't know you were watching."

"Well, I was."

After a few boring lessons from Mr. Mod, he dismissed the kids for lunch. Gar walked with Terra out to the courtyard, with Rich, Kory, Jason and Raven behind closely. Instead of packing lunch, all six of the children brought money for hot lunch. They stood in the long line in front of the cafeteria, grabbing their milks and utensils before punching in their pin numbers. Then, having gotten their food, they sat down at a table outside the cafeteria and began poking at their questionable meal.

"Guys," began Rich with a mouthful of corn. "I played kick ball with the fifth graders today!"

"Wow," said Terra. "I didn't think they let anyone younger than them play! Cool!" Gar took note of her excitement.

"Dude," he said, getting an idea. "Terra, why don't we see if we can play too? That'd be fun, don't you think?" She smiled in agreement.

"Well, actually," said Rich in protest. "I dunno if you'll be able to play. See, they needed another man, and lucky for them I was right there!" Raven looked at him.

"Please," she said sarcastically. "Victor probably let you play because you were with me. He doesn't usually let anyone on his team but the people he's comfortable with." Gar looked at Raven quizzically.

"Dude," he said. "I didn't know you knew Victor! He's my best friend!" She blushed fiercely when he spoke. It'd been well over a week since he walked her home, but that fact was insignificant to him. His mind was focused on Terra.

"Well," she said, looking at her tray of food. "I've been sitting on his bench at recess for the past couple of days, and when his team's up to bat and it's not his turn to kick, he talks to me."

"Oh, wow," he said, relatively impressed. "That's cool I guess. What do you talk about?" Raven couldn't believe he was talking to her still. He wasn't nervous like he was when he had walked her home, and she could tell he'd completely forgotten that they even liked each other.

"I don't know."

"What? What do you mean you don't know?"

"Maybe it is nun-ya!" said Kory, seeing her friend's flushed face.

"Huh?" asked Rich.

"None- ya business!" said Jason, smiling at Kory's joke.

"Well," said Terra, cutting back into the conversation. "I think playing kick ball would be a great idea! I'll bet since he's your best friend Vic will let us play!"

"Oh yes!" said Kory. "That would be fun!" The rest of the group nodded. Raven patted the book in her sweater pocket silently, making sure she was ready too.

Gar flicked some corn at Terra and then helped her get it out of her hair when a teacher scolded him. Jason and Rich were listening intently to Kory and Raven's conversation about how they'd seen both Kat and Martin falling asleep during class, snoring. Soon, though, they were done eating, and raced out to the kickball field.

"Hey, Victor!" shouted Gar, coming around the side of the back stop. "Can me and my friends play too?" Victor checked out the group, and saw Rich. Jason looked like he could be of some use too, so he nodded.

"Yeah, sure!" he said as they walked over. Raven took a seat at the edge of the bench as usual, and took out her book. Victor caught her eye for a split second. "Hey Rae!"

"Hi Victor."

"You gonna play today?"

"No. It looks like you've got enough girl power on your team as it is anyways." Victor saw that he had four girls on his team, while the other team had just Karen as their only female. Gar scoffed.

"Aww c'mon Rae!" he whined. "Why don't you just play? Why are you reading? It's recess!" Terra grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the line up fence, and more specifically, away from talking to Raven.

"Let her go," she said with a hint of annoyance. "If she wants to be all weird and creepy then let her. We have enough people anyways." Gar followed her obediently. Kory, however, still tried to get her closest girl friend to join them.

"Oh, please Raven!" she pleaded. "It will be more fun with you out here!" Terra cut back in.

"No it won't Kory. If she plays we won't get to kick as much. It's fine. We don't want her anyways." Raven looked up at the rest of her friends sadly. They turned their attention towards the game, not even noticing her get up and leave.

She frowned angrily as she stormed across the blacktop, pushing her way through several other games. Her anger turned into sadness soon enough though, and she caught a lump in her throat. She thought about how Terra called her creepy, how she said they didn't want her, and how her friends had forgotten about her so quickly when the kick ball game began… or had Gar said all of those things? Her emotions were getting the better of her, clouding her mind. Raven's crush on Gar was causing bitter feelings and bad thoughts, and she wanted the lump in her throat to leave. She wanted him to like her again, because even though he paid all of his attention to Terra, Raven's constant thinking of the day he walked her home was confusing her. Every time she thought about that day, she reassured herself that he liked her. When she went to school the next day though, she was reminded of Terra. She found herself walking away from the blacktop and wound up at the library. The door was surprisingly unlocked, as it usually was during lunch, and she let herself in.

Raven sat down against the bookshelf and took out her book. She couldn't focus on its words though, and wiped at her eyes in hopes of preventing tears from falling. She felt a book behind her head slide out, and turned to see who took it out, hoping it wasn't a librarian catching her hiding from recess. She didn't see anyone, and assumed they walked away. Raven got up and walked around, trying to find out where the person went, trying not to be seen. She felt she was alone again, and sat back down where she was. Moments later, however, the person put the book back, hitting her on the end.

"Ow!" she said, rather loudly for both the library and for her. Now the tears were really about to fall, as her head throbbed almost as painfully as her heart had. To her surprise, the book slid back and she saw a boy on the other side.

"I'm sorry," said the boy, running around to her side of the shelf. Raven turned her back to him and hoped he'd stop talking to her. He didn't.

"I didn't see you there when I took the book out," he said as he approached. He saw her crouched over and preceded cautiously.

"Well, I was there," she said, clearing her throat of the lump.

"Here, lemme help you up." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Her eyes were a little red, but she hadn't cried yet. He saw the book she clutched in her hands. "Wow, that's a hard book. I don't think we have any here that hard. I would know... I work here!" He smiled at that last bit.

"You… you work at the library?" she got a good look at him for the first time. He had thick, platinum blonde hair that reached just above his shoulders. He pushed his bangs out of his face before speaking again.

"Yep, I just started yesterday. I shelve the books during lunch and during lunch recess."

"When do you eat?" she asked.

"The kids in my class eat after lunch recess," he replied.

"Your class? What class is that?"

"I'm in the fifth grade seminar class. We start school a half-hour before everyone else, and take a bunch of field trips. You probably haven't seen us around much because we eat after you and all." She couldn't help feeling jealous. She wanted to be in a class isolated from the rest of the school, surrounded by smarter peers.

"Oh wow," she said, impressed. They ended up sitting back down against the bookshelf as her companion flipped through the pages of her book. "So… um, how do you get into that class?"

"I think you have to request a test in the mail or something like that. It's called the Raven test, and it's got a bunch of puzzles in it and everything. It tests a different type of learning I guess." She made a mental note to ask her parents about it when she got home.

"Hey, that's my name!"

"What is? Raven?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. She felt like she could feel his higher intelligence just radiating off him. "And I'm in the fourth grade right now, so would I do that test thingy for next year?"

"Yeah, I think so. We only have a fifth grade class here." The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch recess.

"Well, I have to go back to class now," said Raven sadly, somewhat embarrassed that she had regular class and her new friend got to hang out in the library.

"Okay, I have to go back to work anyways," he replied. He scratched the back of his head in mild nervousness. "Maybe you could read in here during lunch now? The door's open now 'cause I'm in here… so…"

"Yes!" she said rather loudly. She covered her mouth and headed for the door.

"Bye Raven!"

"Bye… um…"

"Malchior!"

She waved, opened the door, and ran to class with a grin on her face and a new boy on her mind.

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**Well, there you have it! I hope you liked this chapter, please review and let me know what you think!**

Malchior (Nol) - Malchior [Malchior, in the TV show, is Malchior of Nol, so I just used that for his last name]

Komi Anders - Blackfire


	8. his favorite novel

**Hello! Thanks so much for the reviews! It's so good to know there are some long-time fan fiction users out there, just like me! Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: don't own the titans**

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Despite their age difference, Raven could not see any reason not to like Malchior. She imagined them conversing about books, about their inferior minded peers, and about being together. The day following their first lunch together, Raven looked up and down the blacktop for Malchior during morning recess, but couldn't find him. She ended up joining a game of four-square with Rich, Gar, Kory, and Terra. That day at lunch, she snuck off to the library again to ask why he wasn't there. She found him stacking books towards the back.

"Hi," she said plainly, already blushing. He smiled without looking up, knowing it was her.

"Hey Raven," he said, getting to his feet. "Did you come in here to read with me?" She nodded, reaching into her jacket pocket. She slapped her hand to her forehead as she realized she forgot her book.

"Dang," she said. "I forgot my book. What a waste of a lunch period." Malchior smiled.

"Raven, I'm sure it won't be a problem finding something else to read," he said. "I mean, you're in a library."

"It's just that I'd been reading that book for a while, and was almost done with it," she explained. "I was kind of hoping I would finish it during morning recess so I could read a new one during lunch."

"Oh," he replied. "Well, why didn't you finish it during recess?" She blushed and tried thinking of a quick excuse. She couldn't tell him she wasted the period looking for him.

"Er, well," she mumbled. "I was um, playing a game of four-square with some of my frie- I mean some kids from my class." Raven was still bitter about being shunned from kick ball the previous day. Malchior's presence was distracting, but not enough to help her forget completely.

"Oh," he said. "I don't think I've ever played four-square with people our age, hah." Raven looked at him, confused.

"What?" she said. "Even I've played four-square! How have you not?" He laughed, and started walking around the bookshelves slowly, looking up and down each row of books.

"Well, I've played," he replied. "But I play on the younger kids' blacktop. I'm a games-leader for their recess games. You know, making sure they don't fight and all." She remembered when she had games-leaders helping her play. She stared at her companion in amazement and awe.

"Wow," she said. "You help kids at recess AND you're really smart AND you get the library to yourself. You are one… cool guy." She couldn't think of any other way to put it. She wasn't about to say what was really on her mind… that he was cute, smart, charming, and most of all, perfect… for her. She gazed at him still searching for something on the book shelf. Her mouth would twitch with a smile every time he turned his head, hoping he'd be turning to look at her.

"Oh, well, thanks, I guess," he said laughing. "I'm not really that cool. If anything, I'm a total nerd."

"What?" said Raven. "I don't think you're a nerd-"

"Ah!" he said, cutting her off. "Found it." She looked up at the red book he was jumping for on the top shelf. He hopped up and down, grabbing at the shelf but failing to get the book.

"I think I can get it," said Raven, putting her foot on one of the shelves. She started scaling the shelves slowly, keeping her footing.

"Whoa, watch out now," said Malchior warily. "Don't, DON'T FALL!" As soon as she grabbed hold of the red book, she lost her footing and fell. Malchior caught her as her feet hit the ground, and helped her up.

"Thanks for catching me," she said blushing, as he was still holding onto her. He blushed too, and promptly let her go.

"Er, thanks for getting that book for me," he replied, smiling. He picked up the book that had fallen on the ground and handed it to her. "Here."

"Oh," she said, taking it. "Thanks Malchior." She saw that the cover didn't have a title on it. "Um, what book is it?"

"It's my favorite book," he said simply. "Dragon of Deception. I took the book cover off of it and threw it on the top shelf so no one else would read it. I like knowing it's in the library at all times."

"Wow," she said. "Thank you for letting me read it. I won't let it out of my sight, I promise." She held the book to her chest. He grabbed her free hand and brought her around the corner to a dim section of the library. She blushed furiously as he led. He pulled out a few books from a shelf, revealing a cardboard box.

"This shelf is wider than the others, so I put a box here and hid the best books in it," he explained. "You're welcome to take from it whenever I'm working. Just don't let the librarian catch you… she doesn't know I put that there." He winked at her, still holding her hand.

"Oh, wow," she said. "Thank you Malchior. I don't think I'll have any problem finding anything to read from now on." He grinned.

"No problem, Raven." She smiled in disbelief.

"Um, Malchior," she began. "Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, I met you yesterday and you've already let me read your favorite book… and showed me your stash of-" He squeezed her hand, still held in his.

"Raven," he said. "I uh, you know, like you, and all. I can tell that you're smart, and that you've got a real love of books, just like I do. I think it'd be a shame if you couldn't share this… with me." He felt his ears burn red, and he could see her cheeks do the same. She pulled her hand away from his and put her hood up.

As if right on cue, the bell rang. Still clutching Dragon of Deception, Raven walked quickly around the shelves and straight towards the door.

"Wait, Raven!" shouted Malchior. "Don't you, uh, d-don't you like me too?" She stopped in her tracks and nodded her head forward, just slightly in admittance, and then left. He smirked as the door shut.

**Gar and Jason** sat next to each other in Mr. Chang's science lab right after lunch. Across the room he noticed Raven and Kory sitting together, as well and Rich and Kat. Terra had talked to Mr. Mod after lunch and was nowhere to be seen now. Today there were assembling terrariums.

"Now class," said Mr. Chang. "We will be putting together the terrariums we learned about last week. You and your partners will assem-" Mr. Chang's instruction was quickly interrupted by an explosion at Gar and Jason's end of the room.

Both boys' faces were covered in dirt and bark, and the flowers and plants they'd gathered were all over the floor.

"HOW DO YOU TWO DO IT?" screamed Mr. Chang. "THERE'S NOTHING WITH EXPLOSIVES IN THIS LAB!" Across the table, Martin and Adam snickered, hiding the fire crackers in their jacket pockets as the teacher stormed by.

"M-m-mister Chang! We didn't do it! Honest!" pleaded Gar.

"Yeah!" agreed Jason. "We didn't do it! We're being set up!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Mr. Chang. You two, pick up this mess now!" Gar and Jason grumbled, picking up their broken plants and scooping up the bark that fell on the floor. Mr. Chang continued explaining the directions to the rest of the class:

"Now then," he continued. "You and your partners will assemble the terrariums, just like the one that I've drawn on the whiteboard. First, you put the dirt and bark in the pretzel jar, and then the plants. Then you will write a description of the type of terrarium, keeping in mind…" Gar and Jason had finished picking up the mess and had taken their seats, still annoyed.

"Man, when I find out who did this…" Gar said, putting his fist in his palm. Jason nodded in agreement.

"Payback," said Jason, grinning evilly. Mr. Chang was just about wrapping up.

"… and then when you're done just put it on the counter and you guys can go back to your regular class," he said. "By the way, you two, Gar and Jason, switch partners. We will not be having any more 'accidents', you hear?" Their faces fell.

"Great!" said Gar. "Now I don't even get to be your partner!"

"Now," continued Mr. Chang. "Gar, switch with Kory. Jason, you and Kory will be partners and Gar and Raven will be together." Raven's ears perked up at that phrase. She watched Kory leave her and saw Gar stroll across the room and take a seat next to her.

"I didn't even blow it up…" he complained.

"I'm sure."

"Okay class! Begin!" shouted Mr. Chang, and all the students began their projects.

Raven immediately grabbed her and Gar's instructions and measured how much dirt and bark were needed. Gar stared at the jar as she filled it with dirt, evening it out, and then sprinkling it with bark.

"You know," she said, eyeing the level of bark, not looking at him. "You could help me." He blinked.

"Oh, right!" He picked up the first plant and began working.

Rich and Kat were having difficulty putting together their wetland terrarium. Kat had put in too much water and the newly formed mud was sloshing all over her pink jumper. Jason and Kory's work was at a standstill as well. Jason was making funny faces and telling Kory jokes instead of putting together their project. Raven glanced around at the rest of her classmates and could tell they hadn't gotten very far either. She looked at her directions and saw there she and Gar were practically done with their project. He was putting the finishing touches on standing their plants up straight.

"There!" he said proudly. "Doesn't look too bad, if I do say so myself!" He flashed a toothy smile.

"Wow," she said, mildly impressed. "It does look good. Now we just have to write about our type of terrarium and we'll be done." She pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.

"Um," said Gar, noting her writing utensil. "Don't you want to use a pencil? What if you make a mistake?"

"I won't," she said shortly. She wrote a few sentences and handed Gar the pen and paper. "Write your name at the top so we can get out of here."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, writing his name.

"None of your business," she said, planning on stealing away to the library to see if she could catch Malchior leaving, or eating lunch, or walking to the bathroom…

"Ok… well I'll go put this on the shelf now," replied Gar, looking at Raven's blank expression.

Gar ran back and grabbed his back pack. Raven walked towards him from Mr. Chang's direction.

"I already told him we were done," she said. She grabbed her bag and started out the door. Gar chased after her.

"Hey, wait up!" he said, running towards her. Raven pulled her hood up and kept walking. "Hey hang on!"

"What?" she said finally.

"Where you going? Class is that way!" he pointed in the opposite direction that Raven was heading.

"Bathroom. Don't wait up."

"Oh, um, okay then," he said, still following her. "So what did you think about our science project today? A bunch of plants and bark was pretty pointless if you ask me!"

"Well," she said, stopping and looking at him. "I wasn't asking you. I said don't wait up." He frowned. She glared at him.

"Oh, okay," he said, and turned around. "See you later Rae!" She glared even harder at him as he walked away. How could he be so casual talking to her after they liked each other? How could he just act like they were friends?

Raven dismissed her bitter thoughts as Malchior popped back into her head. She rounded the bathroom building and headed off to the library, picking up her pace as she wondered if he'd already finished his lunch. She didn't notice Gar's head poke out from behind the building.

"Where are you going?" he asked out loud to himself. He followed her silently.

Raven got to the library and pulled at the door, but it was locked. She felt a lump in her throat as she stood there, sad and disappointed. She started walking back, not seeing Gar duck out of her sight. The library door opened, and she turned around to see Malchior with his backpack slung over his shoulder, carrying several books in his hands. Raven ran over and grabbed some of the books, just as they were falling out of his arms. Gar wondered who that boy was as he watched Raven help him. He watched them smile to each other and walk together to the opposite side of campus. He followed them.

"So," said Raven sheepishly, still carrying a few of his books. "Where are you going with all this stuff?"

"Back to class, I'm afraid," he replied. "I ate lunch with my classmates and had to come back to get my things before I go back. Why are you here?"

"Oh," she said, wanting to slap herself for forgetting to think of a good excuse before seeing him. "Well, my um, teacher sent me to get him a book."

"What book?"

"Er, um, any book."

"Oh," he said. "Well, you could have the blue one in your hand right now." Raven looked at the title: Benedict Blonde.

"What the heck is this book about?" she asked, appalled at the corny title.

"A traitor who happens to be blonde. It's kind of a silly book, really."

"Why do you have it then?"

"It's got some, um, cool pictures in it." Raven managed to flip through the book to the pictures, seeing a young blonde geomancer commanding the terrain, eyes glowing and everything. It didn't hurt that she was pretty, too. Raven could see the fantasy story being a success in her class, but made a note to read it for herself before putting it back in the library.

"Hmm, I think I'll take it," she said, smiling. "Thanks."

Gar couldn't tell what they were talking about, but he could tell that he was lost. He didn't recognize this part of the school, and prayed that Raven wouldn't find out that he was following her so he could follow her back.

"Well," said Malchior. "This is my class." He stopped in front of a door on the corner of one of the main buildings of the school. He opened the door. "Can you help me drop off the books? I mean… since you're already here?" She nodded, eager to finally see where the smart young man learned.

He led her down a corridor and rounded a corner into his room. She followed, and saw that there were no more than twelve students in his class. There was a computer for each student, at each desk, and the walls were lined with textbooks. He dropped his bag and books at his desk.

"Um, where's your teacher?" asked Raven, putting down the books she was carrying.

"She's actually the Vice-Principal, Headmistress," he answered. "She's probably in her office. She only instructs us for a few hours a day." Now Raven really couldn't believe her ears. She wanted so badly to be in this class, with isolation and respect for each student. She looked around the room and saw a chart with numbers and dollar signs all over it. Above it was a picture of the Jump City Observatory.

"What's this for?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Well," he began. "We're planning a field trip to the observatory soon, and we're raising money to go."

"Oh, cool," she said.

"You know," said Malchior, seemingly stuck with an idea. "It's not for a few weeks. I'll bet you could go with us." He smiled at her, and her face lit up.

"Oh wow," she said quietly. "You-you could really do that?"

"Sure," he said. "Headmistress loves me. I could totally get you to go with us. Would you like that?" She nodded ferociously at the thought.

"Yes, that would be awesome."

"Alrighty then," he said. "I'll get you some of the paperwork for the fundraising. You'll have to pay for your share, of course."

"Oh, yeah," she said. "I'm sure that won't be a problem." He ran over to the teacher's desk, opened the drawer, and pulled out a booklet.

"This will tell you how to sell what we're fundraising with," he explained. "They're mini telescopes. Pretty cool, actually." She took the booklet and lazily glanced at the clock. She'd been gone nearly twenty minutes, and panicked.

"Oh, crap," she said. "I have to go!" She started towards the corridor.

"Wait, Raven!" he said. "Will I see you tomorrow?" She grinned.

"Definitely!" She took off full speed down the corridor. Malchior looked at the chart and saw the line with his name on it. His was the only line without any dollar signs across it. The rest of his classmates were practically done fundraising, but he looked like he had a ways to go. He smirked at the thought of the shy girl running back to class, a blonde boy following closely behind her.

"Until tomorrow, my sweet Raven…" he said, flipping through his own personal copy of Dragon of Deception that he kept in his desk at all times.

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**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE, I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! MORE TO COME SOON!**


	9. tiptoe

**Hey guys! Hope you like this chapter, the story's moving right along! Thanks for the great reviews last time! Read and review please!**

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Raven ran home from school that day with the fundraising paper in her hands. She burst through the front door, threw her backpack down onto the carpet, and approached her father. He was sitting in his armchair as usual, reading the day's paper. He turned down the page to see his beautiful daughter, slightly flustered from the run, with her hands behind her back and a blank expression on her face.

"Yes, Raven?" he inquired.

"Oh, hello Father," she said, thinking of how to word what she was about to say next. "My friend invited me- er… I mean I got invited to go on a field trip to the Observatory in a few weeks."

"And?"

"Um, and I'd like to go, please," she replied.

"Ask your mother," replied Trigon, returning to his newspaper. Raven rolled her eyes and trudged over to their home office, where he mother was typing things meaningless to the young girl.

"Mother?" she asked politely.

"Yes, my child?" Arella stopped typing and turned her chair to face her daughter.

"May I please go to the observatory on a field trip in a few weeks?" Raven handed over the fundraising packet.

"Of course you can," replied Arella, flipping through the pages. "Now where on this thing do I sign for your permission slip?"

"Oh, that's just the fundraising packet," replied Raven.

"Where's the permission slip?"

"Oh, I didn't get one," she said. Her mother frowned. "B-but I'm sure I'll get one tomorrow."

"Alright then," said Arella. "Here you go." She handed Raven the packet back.

"Oh, wait," Raven said, giving it back. "Can you bring it to work? I have to sell these to fundraise." Arella looked at the packet. There was an order form with addresses and an envelope, clearly marked "Cash Only Please".

"Well, I'll bring it tomorrow and see if anyone's interested. How many do you have to sell?"

Raven didn't know that either.

"Oh, wait," said Arella, reading something on the third page. "You'll have to sell ten to cover your costs, and any extra that you sell benefits the observatory. Well, that's nice…"

"Oh, ok thank you Mother," said Raven, leaving. She ran back out into the hall, grabbed her backpack, and ran up to her room. She pulled out Malchior's favorite book and started reading.

**Over a week** had gone by, and it was Friday again. Raven had gone to the younger kids' blacktop during recess and helped Malchior be a games-leader. She really just stood and watched him lead, but while the games were going well, they'd have conversations. During lunch, Raven sat with Kory, Rich, Gar, Terra, and occasionally Jason still, but ate fast and ran to the library before anyone else was done. The others noticed more and more as the days and recesses passed, and Kory decided to find out why. She decided to bring it up during Mr. Mod's math time.

"Raven?" she asked.

"What?" Raven looked up from her math problems innocently.

"Um, could you please help me with number four?"

"Oh," said Raven. "Sure. Negative three." She turned back to the other questions, working quickly through her problems so she could go back to reading Malchior's book.

"But Raven," asked Kory again. "I do not know how to get this answer. Please, explain it to me. I'm sure it will only be a few moments." Raven put her pencil down and started explaining how to arrive at the correct answer.

"…and so that's why it's still a negative num-" Raven stopped shortly as she got a better look at what she was explaining. "Um, Kory?"

"Yes, Raven?" she said, batting her eyelashes.

"You've already done this problem. I see it right here at the edge of your paper." Kory peeked over at what Raven was pointing at and grinned wide.

"Oh, yes, it would appear I have," she said. "Oh well, thank you for your help anyways!" Raven looked at her queerly. She could tell her closest friend wanted to ask about something else.

"Kory," she said. "What ELSE did you want to ask me?" Kory's bashful grin turned into a hopeful smile.

"Oh!" she said. "Well, I have been wondering where you have been leaving to during recess and lunch lately. I feel like I have not seen you in a long time!"

"Kory, you see me every day during class," said Raven.

"Raven, you did not answer my question."

"Fine," said Raven. "I have a new friend. I hang out with him during both recess and lunch recess. Happy?"

"OH A BOY!" shouted Kory, grabbing Gar's attention. He pointed an ear towards their conversation, as he was just as curious about Raven's whereabouts as Kory was, though he had a hunch.

"Kory, shush!" said Raven quietly.

"I am happy for you! You have a boyfriend, this is wonderful!" Kory said happily.

"He's not my boyfriend," said Raven, blushing at the idea. "He is just my friend. We have a lot in common." She tried turning back to her work but Kory pressed on.

"Oh, but I am sure you do like him as more than a friend," she said. "You spend all of your time with him!"

"Kory, enough," said Raven. "I won't answer anymore questions." And that was that.

Gar, having heard the entire conversation, decided it was time for answers. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to know more. Terra walked by and his thoughts of Raven were suspended for the moment. He skipped over to her and struck up a conversation.

"So, Terra," he began. "What are your plans this weekend?"

"Um, I don't really have plans, I guess."

"Oh, that's cool," he said out of habit. She looked at him with a confused and slightly hurt look on her face, and he immediately snapped back into his senses. "Oh, wait, I meant to say 'me too'. Heh." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Oh," she said. "Well then, I guess 'that's cool' too." She smiled at him.

"You know," he began. "That canyon in your backyard is pretty big. We should go exploring it tomorrow!" She looked at him with wide eyes.

"How did you know I have a canyon in my backyard?" she asked harshly.

"Oh!" he said, realizing he'd forgotten that he found her house on his own, without being told by Terra herself. "Um, what I meant to say was that I can see your backyard from the canyon!" Her eyes grew even wider.

"Well, if you've really seen my house then you'd probably hardly consider that patch of dirt a yard!" she walked across the classroom to the class library, which was just an enclosed bookshelf corner.

"Terra wait!" he said, following her. "I didn't mean it like that. You know I didn't." She looked like she was about to cry.

"How do you know where I live, Gar?" she asked.

"I um, went exploring around the canyon and I saw you, I swear that's all," he said.

"Alright. Just promise me you won't tell anyone," she pleaded.

"I won't Terra."

"Promise me!" she demanded.

"I promise. Your secret is safe with me."

**Today's PE** lesson was a jogging circuit: perfect. While the other children walked or jogged around the field, under the "supervision" of Mr. Brown (currently reading his monthly Sports Illustrated magazine, listening to music, and not really paying attention to the kids), Raven decided to tip-toe away from the exercise. She jogged (ironically) to Malchior's corridor and saw him at his class. She did not, however, notice Gar following her. Terra wasn't at PE today for some reason, and when he noticed Raven leaving the field, he had no reason to leave her be. He followed closely, but silently. Malchior smiled, surprised to see her as she arrived.

"Hello, Raven," he said. "What brings you here today?"

"Same thing as always," she replied.

"Me?" he suggested playfully. She nodded in agreement. He laughed.

"Oh Raven," he said. "Do you have the money for the observatory? It's only a week away!"

"Yeah, I do," she said. "It's in my backpack. I'm really excited to go!"

"I am excited for you to go too!" he said, smiling.

"So, what did Headmistress say?" she asked.

"About what?" he asked.

"About me going with you guys. I can still go right?"

"Oh," he said. "Yes, of course! And you have the order form too?"

"Yep," she replied, forgetting to remind him about a permission slip.

"Cool, I'll get that from you after school then?"

"Yeah," she said. "You'll finally see my class…"

"Oh," he said. "Right… well class is about to end, did you want me to meet you there?"

"Yeah, good idea," said Raven. "I'd better get back before Mr. Brown notices I'm not jogging with the group still. Bye! I'll see you after class!"

"Sure thing, Raven."

She jogged back to the field as the kids were filing through its gate. She jumped into line unnoticed. Gar, who had listened in to her and Malchior's conversation and followed her back, jumped back into line, unnoticed as well. He thought about the things he'd heard today. Apparently, Raven had been seeing this boy more than twice a day, for several days. He said he's taking her on a field trip, that she's paying _him_ to go to, and he doesn't seem all that enthused. The gears in Gar's head were turning, and he felt like he was on the verge of a conclusion.

"Oh well," he thought to himself. "It's probably nothing!"

The bell rang, and Raven saw Malchior walk over to her classroom just as she stepped out.

"Hey Raven," he said.

"Hi Malchior," she replied. Just as she spoke, Kory and Rich ran up to them.

"HELLO!" shouted Kory, thoroughly excited. "I have heard much about you, Raven's friend Malchior! You read many books, work in the library, play with young children at recess, and are taking Raven and her money to the observatory on a field trip!"

Raven looked at her with an annoyed expression. "How do you know all of this Kory?"

"Oh," said Kory. "Gar has informed us all about what he has learned-" Rich covered Kory's mouth with his hands.

"Okay…" he said, embarrassed for both himself and his best friend. "That's enough Kory!" Gar strolled by, on his way home.

"And how would Gar know about everything that's been going on?" she demanded.

"Heh," he stammered. "Just think of me as a… fly on your wall…"

"Funny," she said angrily. "You look to me more like a rat!"

"Now, Raven," said Malchior. "It's alright. I've got to go home, but you have the money, yes?"

"Yeah, of course," she said, taking it out of her bag. She handed the bills and the form over to the white-haired boy and waved goodbye. Rich and Kory walked off too.

"Um, Raven," said Gar. "You're just giving him the money? Don't you have to, like, give it to a teacher or something?"

"Of course not," said Raven. "The people in Malchior's class are smart…mature! They can handle this stuff on their own!"

"Okay…" said Gar, uneasy. "When is this field trip anyways?"

"It's next week."

"What day though?"

"Oh," said Raven. "Well, I'm not really sure actually."

"That sounds promising…" said Gar, rolling his eyes. "Raven, are you sure about this?"

"Leave me alone Gar," she said, storming off. "Malchior is nice to me, and I'd like to keep it that way!" She stomped away, leaving Gar utterly confused.

"What does that even mean!?" he shouted.

"**So, Terra,"** said Mr. Wilson. "You are fairly new here at school. I'm glad you've elected to meet with me these few times a week to help you feel better about your move from Markovia." She nodded.

"I know what you were when you left there," he continued. "And I want to make sure you are comfortable here at Jump West Elementary. Are you?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. "I am."

"How about life at home? Is it suiting you as well as your former living conditions?"

"It suits me… well, I guess," she replied sheepishly.

"Well, then," said Mr. Wilson. "I guess we're done here for today. I'll see you next week." He wrote a few notes down, and the little blonde girl got up.

"Oh, and Terra," he said. She turned around. "If you ever need anything, you know where to come."

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